The IUCN Red List has officially declared Conus lugubris—a marine snail once found only on the north shore of São Vicente, Cape Verde—Extinct. The species, last seen alive in 1987, was driven to extinction by coastal development that destroyed its fragile habitat. While its loss is a sobering reminder of biodiversity’s vulnerability, the story of […]
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An international research team from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Frankfurt (SBiK-F) has investigated how quickly seed dispersal by animals in tropical forests recovers after deforestation. Their study, now published in the scientific journal “Current Biology,” shows that it takes decades for seed-dispersing animals to come back and interact with plants. A crucial […]
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For the first time, a research team from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and the Schöningen Research Centre have reconstructed the genomes of an extinct horse species Equus mosbachensis from the archaeological site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony, approximately 300,000 years old. Thanks to exceptionally favorable preservation […]
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Genetic diversity – the diversity within species – is a crucial yet often underestimated basis for the protection of biodiversity. A recent publication in the journal “People and Nature,” co-led by Senckenberg researcher Deborah M. Leigh, emphasizes the central role of genetic diversity for a “nature-positive” future. This refers to a state in which the […]
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An international team led by Senckenberg researcher Prof. Dr. Simon Darroch has presented a new approach to understanding how living organisms fundamentally change their environment – and what this means in terms of the role of modern humans. In their study, now published in the scientific journal “Trends in Ecology & Evolution,” the researchers propose […]
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For the first time, researchers in Ecuador have discovered amber fossils from the Cretaceous period on the South American continent. The approximately 112-million-year-old find from the Hollín Formation in the Oriente Basin is one of the oldest known amber deposits in South America. Of particular note are the numerous insect species trapped in the amber, […]
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In the face of climate change and increasing droughts, the Amazon rainforest – one of the largest and most important ecosystems on Earth – is under ever-increasing pressure. A new study by Senckenberg researchers in the journal “Nature Communications” shows that it is not only the size or species diversity of the forest that is […]
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By combining satellite images with a new type of genetic analysis, a research team led by the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Frankfurt (SBiK-F) was able to decipher how European beech forests react to climate change. The study, published today in the scientific journal “Global Change Biology,” shows that the timing of leaf emergence […]
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Near the Syrian city of Afrin, an international research team, including researchers from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen, has discovered a previously unknown fossil sea turtle. The species Syriemys lelunensis, newly named under the aegis of the University of São Paulo, dates from the early Eocene, around 50 […]
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Angola is home to an impressive diversity of species – but the country’s biodiversity is severely threatened by illegal hunting, habitat loss, and the consumption of bushmeat. A research team, including Senckenberg scientist PD Dr. Raffael Ernst, has investigated the wildlife trade in the province of Uíge. In their study, published in the journal “Oryx,” […]
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