Tag Archives: extinction

African trees dying due to climate change

The Sahel, one of the hottest regions on Earth ranging from the Atlantic coast south of the Sahara Desert to the Red Sea to the east and the Horn of Africa to the southeast, is getting drier and drier and … Continue reading →

Amphibians in more trouble than previously thought

Climate change, land-use change and the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. Those are the main causes why more than 30 per cent of all amphibian species have appeared on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). … Continue reading →

Job accomplished – last Vietnamese rhino poached – annamiticus subspecies extinct

When we speak of biodiversity decline we usually prefer to zoom out to get the big picture. Sometimes however reality forces you to stand still and take time to commemorate an individual case. Once Rhinoceros sondaicus or the Javan rhinoceros … Continue reading →

Coral is losing its chemical war with seaweeds

As if anthropogenic pollution and overfishing isn’t damaging enough for coral reefs worldwide, now certain seaweeds seem determined to see the end of reefs as well. These macroalgae produce chemicals that inhibit the growth of reef-building coral or even kill … Continue reading →

Life had a small surprise just after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction

You may have felt really lonely walking the face of Earth. Until you looked closer. [Btw: who needs peer-reviewed literature when you’ve got the annual festival of presentations at the Geological Society of America?]