Flawed Methods Seriously Underestimate Projected Extinction Rates... A Hundred-Fold

The more than 16,000 species currently listed by the IUCN as seriously endangered may be gone much sooner than we think. In a new study published in Nature, the University of Colorado's Brett Melbourne and UC Davis' Alan Hastings estimate that endangered species may become extinct 100 times faster than originally expected, blaming earlier predictions on erroneous, outdated models, reports The Guardian's Ian Sample.

It wouldn't be the first time that a previously well-established model has fallen by the wayside in light of stark new evidence (think melting Arctic ice cap). Yet the consequences here could be especially dire: According to Melbourne, certain species "could have months instead of years left" (emphasis mine).