Sixth Mass Extinction

[David B. Benson]

Mass die-off of birds in south-western US 'caused by starvation'
Phoebe Weston
2020 Dec 26
The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/26/mass-die-off-of-birds-in-south-western-us-caused-by-starvation-aoe

Long migrators.

[David B. Benson]

Idaho moose being eaten alive
Nicole Blanchard
2021 Jan 01
Lewiston Morning Tribune
lmtribune.com/outdoors/idaho-moose-being-eaten-alive/article_581cbc95-d87e-5797-911a-5fc62040936b.html

Winters not cold enough to kill ticks.

[David B. Benson]

Study warns of 'biotic annihilation' driven by hunting, habitat destruction
Malaika Vyawarhare
2021 Jan 05
Mongabay
news.mongabay.com/2021/01/study-warns-of-biotic-annihilation-driven-by-hunting-habitat-destruction/

Exemplified in Borneo

[David B. Benson]

Humpback whales impacted by climate change
Fiona MacLeod
2021 Jan 05
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-humpback-whales-impacted-climate.html

Lack of food.

[David B. Benson]

Warming driving Eastern Mediterranean species collapse
Patrick Galey
2021 Jan 05
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-eastern-mediterranean-species-collapse.html

Off the coast of Israel.

[David B. Benson]

What We've Lost: The Species Declared Extinct in 2020
John R. Platt
2021 Jan 06
EcoWatch
www.ecowatch.com/species-extinct-in-2020-2649768697.html

Looong list.

[David B. Benson]

Parrots pushed to extinction despite protection policies
2021 Jan 18
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-parrots-extinction-policies.html

Southeast Australia and northwest Andes mentioned.

[David B. Benson]

New management approach can help avoid species vulnerability or extinction
2021 Jan 18
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-approach-species-vulnerability-extinction.html

Mexican grey wolf is exemplar.

[David B. Benson]

Simple change to fishing gear saves thousands of birds in Namibia
Chris Baraniuk
2021 Jan 19
The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/simple-change-to-fishing-gear-saves-thousands-of-birds-in-namibia

Including declining species such as albatross.

[David B. Benson]

The Global Decline of Insects in the Anthropocene Special Feature
2021 Jan 11
PNAS
www.pnas.org/cc/the-global-decline-of-insects-in-the-anthropocene-special-feature

A collect of several articles.

h/t to Mike on Real Climate

[David B. Benson]

Why should we care about insects?
Thomas J. Pfaff
2019 Feb 14
Sustainability Math
sustainabilitymath.org/2019/02/14/why-should-we-care-about-insects/

Insects are also tasty; street snacks in Vietnam.

h/t to Mike on Real Climate

[David B. Benson]

Monarch butterfly population moves closer to extinction
Olga R. Rodriguez
2021 Jan 21
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-monarch-butterfly-population-closer-extinction.html

Western population almost gone.

[David B. Benson]

A quarter of known bee species haven't appeared in public records since the 1990s
2021 Jan 22
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-01-quarter-bee-species-havent-1990s.html

Wild bees.

[David B. Benson]

Blue whales threatened by ship collisions in busy Patagonian waters
Dan Collyns
2021 Feb 01
The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/01/blue-whales-threatened-by-ship-collisions-in-busy-patagonia-waters

Maybe 700 blue whales and a thousand fishing boats.

[David B. Benson]

Scientists Discover New Whale Species in Gulf of Mexico
Olivia Rosane
2021 Feb 02
EcoWatch
www.ecowatch.com/endangered-whale-species-mexico-2650251027.html

Only 33 left.

[David B. Benson]

Gone fishing: the fight to save one of the world's most elusive wild cats
Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
2021 Feb 17
The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/17/the-fight-to-save-worlds-elusive-fishing-cats-india-aoe

About twice house cat size.

[David B. Benson]

Global freshwater fish at risk of extinction, study finds
Fiona Harvey
2021 Feb 23
The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds

Dams, overfishing, pollution ...

[David B. Benson]

Scientists describe 'hidden biodiversity crisis' as variation within species is lost
2021 Mar 01
Phys.org
phys.org/news/2021-03-scientists-hidden-biodiversity-crisis-variation.html

Intraspecies variation needed to cope with environmental changes.