Specieswatch: is the world’s wildlife entering its ‘samey’ era?

Scientists are calling loss of biodiversity the homogenocene', where niche species are pushed out by generalists like pigeons and rats

Plants and animals are disappearing at an alarming rate across the planet, with some estimates suggesting a loss of up to 150 species every day. Meanwhile, the versatile species that thrive alongside humans, such as pigeons, rats and cockroaches, expand to fill the vacant gaps. Some scientists are calling this loss of biodiversity the homogenocene": the era when the world's wildlife became more samey.

It started during the last ice age, when humans hunted large mammals such as the mammoth to extinction, and has continued to the present day as land is cleared to make way for fields, farms and cities. Specialist creatures that exploit a particular niche - such as the flightless Fijian bar-winged rail - have been pushed out by adaptable generalists, like mongooses, brought to Fiji by humans in the 1800s. More recently the homogenocene has hit the oceans, with warmer waters devastating coral reefs for example.