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How much do we know about the current extinction rate?

F D Smith1, R M May, R Pellew

  • 1Fraser Smith and robert May are at the Dept of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK OX1 3PS.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Despite low extinction percentages, current data indicates a significant risk to biodiversity. The ongoing loss of animal and plant species highlights a growing extinction crisis, contrary to initial interpretations of the data.

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