One of the world’s remaining biodiversity hotspots will take millions of years to recover from extinctions, scientists predict. A new study suggests more than three million years of evolutionary history have already been lost on Madagascar. The researchers are calling for urgent conservation action to prevent another wave of extinctions. The island is known for its unique fauna and flora. It is home to wildlife such as ring-tailed lemurs, the long-tailed cat, the fossa, spiny hedgehog-like mammals called tenrecs and nocturnal primates known as aye-ayes. The researchers used computer modelling to predict how long it would take for new species to evolve naturally to replace those lost – something known as the evolutionary return time. The figure exceeded 3 million years for lost and recently extinct mammals. But if all currently threatened mammals were also to go extinct, that number would rise to more than 20 million years, suggesting an even more severe impact on biodiversity could be imminent.
SOURCE: BBC
More Stories
African and Global Firms Contribute towards Harris’ Empowerment Fund
The Main Winners in Nigeria’s Botched Currency Overhaul are Two Chinese-owned Fintech Apps
The Growing Opportunities that African Pharmaceuticals Present
Africa’s Extraction and Export of Raw Materials is Rising
Accra’s Plan on a Debt-free Life
Mauto is Preparing Benin—and Africa—for an e-bike Ride
Rwanda’s Long History of Mining
Disease Stops Trade in East Africa’s Border Towns
A Marketplace for Medical Equipment in Addis
South African Rate Hike Exceeds All Expectations
At the Coalface of the Green Revolution, but Earning Crumbs
Harris Stresses that U.S. Interests in African Nations Extends beyond Competing with China