David Malakoff, writing for Conservation (a good read pick):
“Around the planet, relatively large species are in big trouble—from lions and tigers and bears to cod, condors, and conifers. Even some heftier snails and salamanders are struggling. “Size matters,” says biologist Chris Darimont of the University of California, Santa Cruz, who notes that the assaults are coming from several angles. On one front, “a larger body size makes a species more vulnerable to all kinds of problems, from getting hunted by humans to habitat change.” One result: Nearly half of the world’s large “megafaunal” mammals—and more than half of the largest marine fish—are now considered vulnerable to imminent extinction.”
Natural selection at work.
Illustration by Philip Nagle
