Date: September 21, 2018
Source: University College London
Land-based bird populations are
becoming confined to nature reserves in some parts of the world -- raising the
risk of global extinction -- due to the loss of suitable habitat, according to
a report led by UCL.
Researchers analysed biodiversity
in the area known as Sundaland, which covers the peninsula of Thailand, Borneo,
Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Bali, one of the world's most biologically degraded
regions.
The study, published today
in Conservation Letters, focuses on galliformes -- heavy-bodied
ground-feeding birds such as pheasants, grouse and quail -- as their numbers
are well-recorded and they are amongst the most threatened species in some
parts of the world.
Scientists found that up to 13
populations (25 per cent of galliform populations in the area) have been
extirpated (made locally extinct) in the region and no longer exist outside
nature reserves (protected areas). The island of Sumatra has suffered the
highest proportion of extirpations among the areas studied, having lost 50
percent of its galliform species in unprotected land.
As a result, certain species are
only found in protected areas -- raising questions about the ultimate goal of
conservation. The researchers argue that these areas were never intended to be
a last resort for the existence of species and are also coming under increasing
threat from human activity.
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