It would take 23 million years for evolution to replace Madagascar's endangered mammals NatureComms
Brown Mouse Lemur, one of the 104 species of lemurs that are currently threatened with extinction. A total of 17 species of lemurs have gone extinct since humans arrived on Madagascar. Credit: © Chien C. Lee
Madagascar is the world's fifth-largest island, about the size of France, but"in terms of all the different ecosystems present on Madagascar, it's less like an island and more like a mini-continent," says Goodman. In the 150 million years since Madagascar split from the African mainland and the 80 million since it parted ways with India, the plants and animals there have gone down their own evolutionary paths, cut off from the rest of the world.
Armed with this dataset of all the known Malagasy mammals that interacted with humans, the researchers built genetic family trees to establish how all these species are related to each other and how long it took them to evolve from their various common ancestors. Then, the scientists were able to extrapolate how long it took this amount of biodiversity to evolve, and thus, estimate how long it would take for evolution to"replace" all of the endangered mammals if they go extinct.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
2 freshmen revive Wisconsin Legislature’s socialist caucusMADISON, Wis. (AP) — It’s been 90 years, but socialism is back in the Wisconsin Legislature.
Leer más »
CES: Could 90 Percent of Content Be AI-Driven by 2025?A panel hosted by SAG-AFTRA examined AI's impact on Hollywood, which included discussion of AI-enabled content creation tools, deep fakes and some bold predictions.
Leer más »
'90 Day Fiancé': Michael Details His Shocking Affair as Angela CriesDuring part two of this season's tell-all special, Michael revealed the woman he cheated on Angela with is also American.
Leer más »
Watch a SpaceX rocket hurtle to orbit and back in 90 seconds | Digital TrendsSpaceX has released a video featuring a rocket’s-eye view of a recent orbital mission, all the way from launch to landing.
Leer más »
NHS: Woman, 90, forced to wait three days in A&E chairMorwen Griffiths had low oxygen levels and suspected sepsis, but there were no hospital beds.
Leer más »
90% of people in China province Henan infected with COVID: officialAs China battles an unprecedented COVID surge, nearly 90 percent of Henan — the third most populous province — have now been infected with the virus, a top health official said.
Leer más »