BREAKING Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Thousands of years ago, iconic ancient herbivores, such as the woolly mammoth, giant bison and ancient horses roamed the earth and played an important role for the world's grassland ecosystems. Now, a new study has found that the extinction of these animals may have contributed to an increase in grassland wildfires worldwide.
The study, led by researchers from Yale University and the Utah Natural History Museum, looked at the effects of the late Quaternary extinction, which occurred 50,000 to 6,000 years ago. They published their findings in the journal Science on Thursday.
“These extinctions led to a cascade of consequences,” said corresponding author Allison Karp in a news release. “Studying these effects helps us understand how herbivores shape global ecology today.”
In South America, 83 per cent of the large herbivore species went extinct, the most out of all the continents. North America saw 68 per cent of its species go extinct, while the losses in Australia and Africa were 44 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
The researchers set out to see if the extinction of these grazing species could have led to more fires in grassy areas. They believed that a buildup of grass in these ecosystems due to a lack of animals eating the grass could have fuelled an increase in grass fires.
They examined charcoal data from lake sediments taken from 410 sites around the world, which offer evidence of historic fire data. They then compared this data to the percentage of large herbivores that went extinct.
The researchers found that continents that saw more grazers go extinct, such as South America, had larger increases in fire activity. Conversely, Australia and Africa, which saw lower rates of extinction, saw little change in grassland fire activity.
However, the extinction of species that feed on bushes and trees, such as mastodons and giant slots, had little effect on fires in wooded areas.
The authors say their research underscores the important role that grazing livestock and herbivore species play when it comes to mitigating wildfires, as extreme weather events continue to intensify due to climate change.
“This work really highlights how important grazers may be for shaping fire activity,” senior author Carla Staver said in a news release. “We need to pay close attention to these interactions if we want to accurately predict the future of fires.”
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
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Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Ontario Provincial Police confirm one person has died after a single-vehicle rollover crash in Sharbot Lake, Ont. that seriously injured five others.
A grieving mother is speaking out after her 36-year-old son was shot and killed in North Preston, N.S., Wednesday night.
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The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.