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In today’s oceans, larger-bodied marine animals are more likely to become extinct than smaller creatures, according to a Stanford-led study. It’s a pattern that is unprecedented in the history of life on Earth, and one that is likely driven by human fishing. The selective extinction of large-bodied animals could have serious consequences for the health of marine ecosystems, the scientists say, because they tend to be at the tops of food webs and their movements through the water column and the seafloor help cycle nutrients through the oceans.
Image credit: Ker Than/Stanford University
