[ad_1]
- A new study has found that eight species of birds are likely to have completely disappeared in the past couple of decades.
- Researchers recommend that IUCN Red List be reclassified as extinct, while one is treated as extinct in the wild.
- Are more likely to be extinct, if not already there, and should be re-classified as critically endangered (possibly extinct), researchers say.
Eight species of birds may have completely disappeared over the past couple of decades, a new study has found. Among these is the Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), a bird that inspired the character of Blu in the 2011 animated movie Rio. Found only in Brazil, the bird has not seen in the wild since 2000.
Like the Spice's macaw, several other species have become extinct in recent years. To be considered, researchers from BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations focusing on the conservation of birds. seen in the wild for more than 10 years despite exhaustive surveys, or species that have been seen in the last 10 years,
Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's Chief Scientist, and his colleagues used a new statistical approach to the probability of extinction for the species by species and species. as timing and quality of efforts made to survey the species.
Based on their results, IUCN Red List is reclassified as extinct. These include the cryptic treehunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti), last seen in the wild in 2007; the Alagoas foliage-gleaner (Philydor novaesi), not seen in the wild since 2011; and the po'o-uli (Melamprosops phaeosomaThe Spix's macaw, which has some members surviving in captivity, should be reclassified as extinct in the wild, the researchers say in the study published Biological Conservation.
Four more bird species are dangerously close to extinction, if not already there, the team found. These species – the New Caledonian lorikeet (Charmosyna diadema), the Javan lapwing (Vanellus macropterus), the Pernambuco pygmy owl (Glaucidium mooreorum) and the glaucous macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) – should be treated as critically endangered (possibly extinct), the researchers say. The "possibly extinct" tag applies to a subset of critically endangered species that are based on available evidence, likely to be extinct. However, there may be little chance that future surveys might confirm the species' presence.
Whereas most bird extinctions have occurred on islands, the rate of extinction is increasing, the study found, driven by deforestation and habitat loss, invasive species, and hunting and trapping. Five of the eight confirmed or suspected extinctions took place in South America. Of these, four occurred in Brazil, demonstrating how rampant deforestation is driving species extinctions, the researchers say.
"Ninety percent of bird extinctions in recent centuries," said Butchart said in a statement. "However, our results confirm that there is a growing wave of extinctions sweeping across the continents, driven by habitat loss and degradation from unsustainable agriculture and logging."
Quote:
Butchart, S.H., Lowe, S., Martin, R.W., Symes, A., Westrip, J.R., & Wheatley, H. (2018). Which bird species have gone extinct? A novel quantitative classification approach. Biological Conservation, 227, 9-18.
[ad_2]
Source link
