How towns and cities cause extinction of local plants

October 5th, 2009 SYDNEY - A new study has determined that the world's worst mass extinction 250 million years ago was the trigger for a fungus explosion, which puts to rest the idea that an asteroid impact may have had a hand in the massive destruction. When the worldwide extinction took place, lush forests lay in ruins all across the supercontinent Pangea.

September 29th, 2009 SYDNEY - A report has found that one in five species of Australian mammals are at risk of extinction. According to www.news.co.au, of the 388 species of mammals found naturally in Australia, 78 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or extinct in the wild.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - The results of a new study indicate that winds turbines might be hastening the local extinction of an endangered vulture in southern Spain. Studies have so far focused on the short-term effects of wind turbines, looking at the number of bird collisions per turbine per year.

August 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The world's largest species of fruit bat, Pteropus vampyrus, could be driven to extinction in Peninsular Malaysia at the current hunting rate, scientists have warned. They say that around 22,000 of these bats, also known as "large flying fox", are legally hunted each year in Peninsular Malaysia, a level that is unsustainable based on their estimates of the number of bats in the country.

August 17th, 2009 SYDNEY - Scientists have determined that global warming has cut the average snow cover at Australia's highest altitude snow course, Spencer's Creek in the Snowy Mountains, by 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the last 50 years. s a result, unlike skiers, specialized plants that have learnt to survive in the Australian highlands don't have the option of seeking out higher ground and may face extinction, Associate Professor Catherine Pickering of Griffith University, told www.news.com.au.

August 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by paleontologists has statistically proven that new species emerge just as often as they die out, with most evolution occurring in small bursts. The study, by Luke Harmon, professor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho, who worked with a research team led by Michael Alfaro, UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) assistant professor of ecology and evolution biology, analyzed the evolution of the 60,000 species of jawed vertebrates using genetic data.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - A new study has found that the Earth is in the throes of its "sixth great extinction event" and Australia and the Pacific are becoming the worst regions for the destruction of animals and plants. According to a report in the Telegraph, the study, published in the journal Conservation Biology, said that since records began, Australian agriculture had changed or destroyed half the woodlands and forests of the country.

July 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Humans can help in saving the world's most threatened bird species, called the white-shouldered ibis or waterbirds, from extinction, according to new findings by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The study by UEA conservation experts explores the exact reasons behind the decline of the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis.

July 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nineteen-year-old Deeksha Batra wants a perfect partner. She has not left the "job" to her parents alone but has turned to matrimonial sites to look for the "perfect" man.

July 15th, 2009 LONDON - A 61-year-old granny was threatened with an anti-social behaviour order unless she removed her tomato plants. Linda Ware from Neath, South Wales had grown two tomato plants outside her council flat to brighten up the foyer, but estate chief David Rouse paid her a visit after a neighbour complained they were making her ill.

July 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new book has said that small towns can meet the challenge of a fast-paced, globalized world. The book, titled "Small Town Sustainability: Economic, Social, and Environmental Innovation," has been written by University Distinguished Professor and former College of Architecture and Urban Studies dean Paul L.

June 25th, 2009 LONDON - In a new assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it has been estimated that over 30 percent of the world's sharks are threatened with extinction. According to a report by BBC News, the Red list gives the status of 64 types of shark and ray, over 30 percent of which face the danger of extinction.

June 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that the increasing fragmentation of forest patches by roads and development are making them isolated green islands, which can lose species and biological diversity. The study, by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, is revealing that decades of fragmentation of Wisconsin's forests have taken a largely unseen toll on the sustainability of these natural ecosystems.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The loss of endangered species sends alarm bells ringing among conservationists, but what happens to the parasites they host? Although most people would side with the panda over the parasite, which group should we worry about more? North Carolina State University (NCSU) biologist Rob Dunn and colleagues examined the concept of co-extinction, the loss of one species upon the extinction of another. "Decline in host species could drive parasite species to switch onto alternative hosts, which could escalate the rate of emerging pathogens and parasites both for humans and our domesticated animals and plants," Dunn said.

May 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Leeds in the UK have uncovered a previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago. The eruption in the Emeishan province of south-west China unleashed around half a million cubic kilometers of lava, covering an area 5 times the size of Wales, and wiping out marine life around the world.