Scientists from Stanford University in California studied fossil records for almost 2,500 extinct and modern marine animals. They wanted to put the modern extinction threat into perspective with the past five distinct mass extinction events over the past 550 million years. What they found is the modern-day threat, due to factors like ocean acidification and warming, is greater for larger animals than smaller ones. While the study did not directly seek the reason behind the higher risk for larger animals, several conclusions can be drawn, said Payne. As well, past studies have shown that humans tend to hunt larger animals — on land and in the water, said Payne.

Source: CBC News September 14, 2016 17:59 UTC