Extinction rates have slowed across many plant and animal groups, study shows

Extinction Rates Have Slowed Across Many Plant and Animal Groups

New research has revealed that patterns and causes of past extinctions differ from current and future threats.

Around the world, many prominent studies have suggested that the planet is currently experiencing a mass extinction, supported by evidence from extinctions in the past 500 years and the idea that extinction rates are rapidly accelerating.

However, a new study led by scientists at the University of Arizona has shed light on a more positive perspective: extinction rates in plants, arthropods, and land vertebrates appear to have peaked around 100 years ago and have declined since then.

We show that extinction rates are not getting faster towards the present, as many people claim, but instead peaked many decades ago.

Researchers also found that past extinctions were mostly caused by invasive species on islands, rather than by today’s most significant threat to wildlife — the destruction of natural habitats.

Author's summary: Extinction rates have slowed down in many groups.

Extinction rates peaked around 100 years ago.
Past extinctions were mostly caused by invasive species on islands.
Destruction of natural habitats is today's most significant threat to wildlife.

Geographical — 2025-10-27

Extinction Rates Have Slowed Across Many Plant and Animal Groups

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