A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford has shown that the shape and orientation of coastlines significantly influenced extinction patterns for animals living in the shallow oceans during the last 540 million years. In particular, animals living on convoluted or east-west orientated coastlines (such as those found in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico today) were more likely to go extinct than those living on north-south orientated coastlines.

The findings, published today in Science, provide new insight towards understanding patterns of biodiversity distribution throughout Earth history to the present day, and highlight which modern species may be more at risk of extinction due to climate change.

Insects are often seen as invaders due to high-profile species like the yellow-legged (Asian) hornet, the harlequin ladybird and fire ant. but new research reveals insects are also major victims of invasive alien species – exacerbating population declines and reducing their ability to provide vital services for biodiversity and people from pollination to pest control. The first global analysis of its kind, led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), revealed that invasive alien species reduce abundance of terrestrial insects* by 31% on average and reduce species richness by 21%. Invasive animals outcompete or eat insects while invasive vegetation replaces native plants that insects feed upon.

For the first time, a study from researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego integrates climate-related damages to the ocean into the social cost of carbon— a measure of economic harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions.