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Showing posts with the label species

More than half of all tree species in the Amazon face extinction, warn international scientists

According to new data, up to 57% of all Amazonian trees may already fit the criteria of being globally threatened. If confirmed, the estimates would raise the number of threatened plant species on Earth by almost a quarter. Forest cover in the Amazon has been shrinking for decades, but little is known about the impact on individual plant species. The trees at risk include iconic species like the Brazil nut tree, food crops such as cacao, the source of chocolate, as well as rare trees that are almost unknown to science. The research, published in the journal, Science Advances, compared data from almost 1,500 forest plots with maps of current and predicted forest loss to estimate how many tree species have been lost and how many are likely to disappear by the middle of the century. It found that the Amazon - the world's most diverse forest - could be home to more than 15,000 tree species. Of these, between 36% and 57% are likely to qualify as being g...

Puffins are among four UK bird species at risk of extinction, global conservation database

Puffins Atlantic puffins, European turtle doves, Slavonian grebes and pochards are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species for birds. This means the number of UK species on the critical list has doubled to eight. Puffins are vulnerable to pollution and declining food sources, ecologists say. Another 14 UK species are considered to be "near threatened". Martin Harper, conservation director with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said the "global wave of extinction is now lapping at our shores". "The erosion of the UK's wildlife is staggering and this is reinforced when you talk about puffin and turtle dove now facing the same level of extinction threat as African elephant and lion, and being more endangered than the humpback whale," he said.Although the Atlantic puffin population is still in the millions, fewer young birds are surviving to breed. Turtle dove Reasons...

Cactus species are under threat, a global study has said

CACTUS Conservationists voiced concern, saying the level of threat to cacti was much greater than previously thought. The plants are a vital component of arid ecosystems, providing a source of food and water for many animals. The results of the assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature appear in Nature Plants journal. According to the study, 31% of the world's 1,480 cactus species were under pressure from human activity, such as illegal trading, agriculture and aquaculture as well as land-use change. "The results of this assessment come as a shock to us," said lead author Barbara Goettsch, co-chairwoman of the IUCN's Cactus and Succulent Plant Specialist Group. "We did not expect cacti to be so highly threatened and for illegal trade to be such an important driver of their decline." The assessment reported that the illegal trade of live plants and seeds for the horticultural industry and private collections, as well a...

New scary-looking fish species comes from the ocean's dark depths

New scary-looking fish species Now and again, marine scientists plumbing the dark depths of the sea pull out a new fish species that is just out-and-out ugly. The latest discovery looks like a hunchbacked, rotting old shoe with spikes, a scraggly mustache and a big mouth with bad teeth. And it has a long, angular fishing pole-looking thing growing out of its head. The feature is typical for all species of ceratioid anglerfish, which they indeed use to lure other fish to their spiky jaws. "This fish dangles the appendage until an unsuspecting fish swims up thinking they found a meal, only to quickly learn that they are, in fact, a meal themselves," the marine researchers from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said in a statement.The spooky tackle is believed to have evolved from a dorsal fin.

Scientists build 'frozen zoo' to save endangered species

Endangered big cats The University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center is building what's being called a "frozen zoo," a genetic storage center that their scientists believe will someday save endangered big cats (and eventually other species) from extinction. This ambitious vision comes from RBC Director Steven Stice and animal and dairy science assistant professor Franklin West. Here's how the pair say it will work: Cells from the skin of a sedated animal are extracted in a noninvasive procedure. Researchers convert those cells into stem cells by introducing a series of specialized reprogramming genes. And from there, those stem cells can be made into sperm or eggs. The RBC said sperm has already been created from pig stem cells. Stice and West are positive that big cats, which were chosen because scientists have a firm grasp on their biological makeup, won't be far behind. Working in conjunction with Zoo Atlanta, the team ha...

Skeletons of New human-like species found in S Africa

Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in South Africa. The discovery of 15 partial skeletons is the largest single discovery of its type in Africa. The researchers claim that the discovery will change ideas about our human ancestors. The studies which have been published in the journal Elife also indicate that these individuals were capable of ritual behavior.The species, which has been named naledi, has been classified in the grouping, or genus,Homo, to which modern humans belong. The researchers who made the find have not been able to find out how long ago these creatures lived - but the scientist who led the team, Prof Lee Berger, told that he believed they could be among the first of our kind (genus Homo) and could have lived in Africa up to three million years ago.Like all those working in the field, he is at pains to avoid the term "missing link". Prof Berger says naledi could be t...