www.abc.netThe scientists examined fossil records from more than half a billion years of history.
They discovered that each of five major eras of declining diversity corresponded to cycles of severe warming.
"We're expecting rises in temperature during the current century which may be as great as four degrees Celsius," Dr Peter Mayhew, one of the report's authors, said.
"Certainly they're going to be greater during the next century and these kind of range of temperature increase are associated with mass extinctions."
