Carmichael mine may push rare bird to extinction, scientists warn

Carmichael mine may push rare bird to extinction, scientists warn

The creation of Australia’s largest mine will have “serious detrimental and irreversible consequences” for the endangered black-throated finch and may even push it to extinction, a recovery team for the species has advised Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister. The black-throated finch recovery team, comprised of scientists from the CSIRO and James Cook University as […]

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‘Guns kill trees too’: overhunting raises extinction threat for trees

‘Guns kill trees too’: overhunting raises extinction threat for trees

A new paper confirms what ecologists have long feared: hunting birds and mammals drastically raises the risk of extinction for tropical trees. Following the long-lifespan of a single canopy tree, Miliusa horsfieldii, researchers discovered that overhunting of animals could increase the chances of extinction for the species fourteen times over a century, from 0.5 percent […]

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‘Canary in the cornfield’: Monarch butterfly may get threatened species status

‘Canary in the cornfield’: Monarch butterfly may get threatened species status

Monarch butterflies were once a common sight throughout the North American heartland. In Mexico, where they overwinter, single trees would often be covered in thousands. But declines in milkweed – their caterpillars’ only source of food – have led to a 90 percent decline in monarch numbers. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) […]

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Scientists uncover five new species of ‘toupee’ monkeys in the Amazon

Scientists uncover five new species of ‘toupee’ monkeys in the Amazon

While saki monkeys may be characterized by floppy mops of hair that resemble the worst of human toupees, these acrobatic, tree-dwelling primates are essential for dispersing seeds across the vast Amazon landscape as they primarily dine on fruit. After long being neglected by both scientists and conservationists, a massive research effort by one intrepid researcher […]

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