Scientists have long wondered if the wooly mammoth went extinct due to high levels of inbreeding.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Extinction
Displaying 1 - 20 of 332 articles
The plant has been propagated worldwide, but every surviving specimen of Encephalartos woodii is a male clone – and without a female, natural reproduction is impossible.
A recent find of an ancient giant bird’s skull has revealed much about its life among the vanished lakes and wetlands of inland South Australia.
When Labor took office, it promised to reverse nature’s decline. But that looks more and more like greenwashing
Faced with a darkly satirical vision that hardly seems sensationalist, the audience might wish for compassionate thinking to combat ecological disaster and precarious resources.
Once sold as ‘penny turtles’ around Australia, the Mary River turtle’s plight galvanised local community efforts to save it from extinction.
An end to extinctions. An environmental cop on the beat. Labor promised a great deal on the environment. But yesterday, they backed away from the main challenge.
Even with the best intentions, policies from different government departments can clash.
We’ve brought some species back from the brink – but more and more are being threatened. Here’s why
Australia has already lost so many wonderful mammal species. Do we want the southern greater glider to suffer the same fate?
Wildebeest herds churning dust. Sturgeon seeking spawning grounds. Shorebirds flying from Siberia. These iconic animal migrations could soon be a memory.
Migrating animals are vital to the health of ecosystems worldwide but a new report says they are in grave danger.
It’s hard work saving birds from extinction, but we have the evidence of successful interventions to show we can avoid further losses.
Native rats and mice don’t usually evoke sympathy among the Australian public. The common names for the species – such as swamp rat – do little to help.
Australian scientists have developed a cure for myrtle rust which could stop an unprecedented extinction event unfolding in native forests.
Nature, everyone agrees, is in trouble. But can Australia’s new market-based mechanism help?
The number of bugs on our windscreens has plummeted in recent years. Are we driving faster? Or are there fewer of them?
We found three previously unknown species of mulgaras hiding in museum collections – but all three have been driven to extinction since European colonisation of Australia.
After decades of absence, crocodiles are now being seen off Bali, Lombok and Java. That’s good for the species – but what about us?
What are the odds of the end of humanity? There’s no real way to know.
Top contributors
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Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin University
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Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
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Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University
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Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Australian National University
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Associate Professor, Vertebrate Palaeontology Group, Flinders University
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Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
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Lecturer in the School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University
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Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
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Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne
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PhD candidate, Charles Darwin University
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Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences at the University of Bath, University of Bath
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Honorary Research Fellow, University of Sydney
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Jaana Dielenberg is a Friend of The Conversation.
University Fellow in Biodiversity, Charles Darwin University
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Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University
