For more than a year, the world has closely followed the development, approval and deployment of various coronavirus vaccines that could bring an end to the global pandemic, debating every side effect and hurdle. But vaccines aren’t only used to spare humans from the ravages of disease; increasingly, they’re being used to conserve wild species […]
Tag: batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Less than a thousand remain: New list of animals on the brink of extinction
The giant panda, tiny tamaraw buffalo, riverine rabbit and Iberian lynx all have something in common: they join a growing list of animals on the brink of extinction. A newly published studyin the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lists 515 animal species with fewer than a thousand individuals remaining. Overall, the report is […]
Petition: Protect Frogs Around the World From Extinction!
Frogs play an important role in many ecosystems. They are bio-indicators, which means they indicate the health of their ecosystems with their permeable, porous skin that reacts to biological hazards such as contamination. They also help with insect control as a food source for carnivorous predators and eating smaller creatures. Sadly, frogs around the world […]
From over 100,000 species assessments in IUCN update, zero improvements
From rays to deep-sea snails, primates to rosewood trees, the latest IUCN Red List update paints a gloomy picture for our world’s species. The update, which includes assessments of 105,732 animal and plant species to date, lists more than 28,000 species as threatened with extinction, attributing much of the declines to human overexploitation. The red-capped […]
Deadly Fungus Has Decimated More Than 500 Amphibian Species
One of the most threatening invasive species on earth is so small it can’t be seen with the human eye, but it’s ravaging amphibians around the world and has become one of the deadliest diseases known to science. Chytridiomycosis is caused by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd as it’s become known, which kills […]
Killer Fungus Threatens Salamanders
Legend says that salamanders can spit poison and extinguish flames, but even such pyrotechnic powers would not be enough to save them from a new scourge. A fungus that arrived recently in Europe from East Asia is lethal to many salamander species, a study released on Thursday shows, threatening populations in Europe, Africa, and beyond. […]
Scientists make breakthrough in fight against deadly amphibian fungus
Scientists have made a key discovery that may help to stem the loss of countless species of amphibians to a deadly fungus. Frogs and other amphibians have been among the worst hit of all species in recent years in terms of the numbers facing drastic declines or extinction: more than one-third of the more than […]
Biggest new animal discoveries of 2013 (photos)
Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013. Many of these were ‘cryptic species’ that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species, while others were totally novel. Below are some of the most interesting “new species” discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013. The last […]