More creatures than previously thought heading for extinction, Belfast researchers find

There are currently more than 42,000 threatened species on the Red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The curlew (Numenius arquata) population of Ireland is in danger of extinction within the next decade. It is estimated there are only 105 pairs of the bird left in Ireland, down from around 5,000 in the 1980s. File picture: Andy Gibson

The global biodiversity crisis is even more serious than previously thought with half the creatures on the planet heading towards extinction, researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have found.

Their study, published in the journal Biological Reviews, found 48% of species declining towards extinction and only 3% showing signs of recovery. The researchers eschewed traditional methods to calculate biodiversity loss, instead looking directly at population trends and whether the species are declining, remain stable or are getting better over time.