The platypus is headed for extinction, warn Australian scientists

Australia's beloved and bizarre egg-laying mammal could start vanishing in coming years if current trends continue.

Taronga Zoo Sydney
  • Platypuses are nocturnal, semiaquatic animals that are endemic to Australia and Tasmania.
  • A new study suggests that the species could lose half its population over the next 50 years, due mainly to drought, human development and climate change.
  • In 2019, the United Nations reported that some 1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction.
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climate change biodiversity environment animals extinction

Some shark species have evolved to walk

The relatively quick evolution of nine unusual shark species has scientists intrigued.

Image source: Mark Erdmann
  • Living off Australia and New Guinea are at least nine species of walking sharks.
  • Using fins as legs, they prowl coral reefs at low tide.
  • The sharks are small, don't be frightened.
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marine biology ocean animals evolution discovery sharks coral biodiversity

15 inspiring nature words you didn't know you needed

Hundreds more are documented in Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks.

Photo: Ahmed Saeed / Unsplash
  • In Landmarks, Robert Macfarlane revives hundreds of nearly-forgotten words to remind us of our relationship with nature.
  • New dictionaries are deleting nature words while adding technology terms, which Macfarlane states further separates us from the environment.
  • The words we speak shape the reality we understand, making it essential to aptly describe what is happening on the planet.
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climate change language ecology anthropocene biodiversity nature

Choosing new 'umbrella' species in Australia could save many others

Is the way we choose which animals to protect out of date?

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
  • "Umbrella" species are animals selected for protection because doing so protects other species in the habitat.
  • However, there may be a better, more efficient way of picking umbrella species: ignoring shared habitats and focusing instead on shared threats.
  • Using this new methodology, researchers discovered that seven times as many species could be protected using the same budget.
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biodiversity climate change ecology environment nature conservation

The formula that predicts every animal’s life story

Life forms on Earth are wildly varied, but scientists discover a single formula that predicts every one's life cycle.

Image source: Winggo Tse/Unsplash; HelloRF Zcool/Komsan Loonprom/Pixeljoy/Shutterstock; Big Think
  • Earth's species diversity is stunning, but there are a couple of battles we all face.
  • Our response to these challenges set the course of our lives.
  • Plug in a couple of variables, and a new formula predicts how we live, reproduce, and die.
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animals biodiversity resources environment reproduction species evolution