Underestimating combined threats of deforestation and wildlife trade will push Southeast Asian birds

Date:  October 7, 2018

Source:  University of Sheffield

The combined impact of deforestation and wildlife exploitation on bird numbers is severely underestimated and could lead to some species becoming extinct, a joint study by the University of Sheffield and National University of Singapore has found.

Scientists focused on Sundaland -- a hotspot of biodiversity in Southeast Asia, spanning Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Peninsular Malaysia -- where habitat loss, and hunting and wildlife trades are particularly intense.

Looking at 308 forest-dependent bird species, they found that when the loss of forest habitat and bird trapping in the area was examined together it resulted in a much higher average population loss than when accounted for separately.

The study calls for the threats to biodiversity to be considered in totality in order for effective measures to be implemented.

The research, which was conducted between October 2016 and July 2017, also suggests that about 50 to 90 of forest-dependent species in the region, such as the ruby-throated bulbul and white-crowned hornbill will be extinct by 2100.

Tropical forests are the most biodiverse ecosystem globally, however, extensive loss of tropical forests driven primarily by the expansion of agricultural land threatens the survival of forest species. Coupled with other anthropogenic disturbance such as logging, hunting and fires, the threat to biodiversity in these forests is amplified.

While the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been tracking the different forms of threats to wildlife, the assessments tend to look at each form of threat separately. These threats, are however, interconnected and the combined impact could be more severe than currently estimated.

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Scientists Realized a Species of Bird Is Really Thirteen Different Species

Kaleigh Rogers

December 9, 2016 // 03:50 PM EST 

But it turns out the birds that were once believed to all belong to the same species—the red-bellied pitta—are actually 13 distinct species, found around Southeast Asia. 

Image: BirdLife International 

This is particularly significant because when they were all lumped together, conservationists weren’t worried about their population numbers. But now that the differences have been teased apart, it’s become apparent that three of these species are actually globally threatened. One species is also considered near threatened, according to BirdLife International, a bird conservation organization, which is the Red List authority for birds for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

“The birds do look alike but there are significant differences between individual taxa,” explained Nigel Collar, a Leventis Fellow in conservation biology with BirdLife International, who helped to identify the different species. 

The first clue came from a team of geneticists who, in 2013, published a paper that showed the red-bellied pitta could be as many as 17 distinct species, based on their genetic diversity. (One factor that can help determine that two animals are separate species is if they are unable to successfully interbreed.) Collar explained that there’s a bit of debate over how genetics is used to determine whether a species is distinct, but the evidence convinced him and his colleagues to take a second look at the pitta. 

“We sat down in British Museum and got out all the specimen and evaluated these slightly different or fairly different subspecies,” Collar said. “So you’re comparing the differences: maybe one has a big bill and another has a small bill; a large wing or a short wing.” 

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Rare bird draws tourists to Queen’s Park

Theresa McManus

Birders from near and far are able to cross an item off their bucket list after viewing a wee bird that lost its way.

A red-flanked bluetail that would normally be in Southeast Asia at this time of year has been causing quite a stir in Queen’s Park. Birders armed with binoculars and photographers equipped with fancy cameras descended on the park in recent days to view the visitor.

“There were a lot of bird watchers – 35 or 40,” New Westminster resident Rob Butler said about the crowd on Wednesday afternoon. “If it hangs around, there would be people coming from across North America – it’s so rare.”

The arrival of the red-flanked bluetail in New Westminster is the first time the bird has been reported in Canada.

“It was pretty neat,” Butler said about seeing the bird. “I have been over to Asia birding. I didn’t see it in Asia.”

A report on the B.C. Rare Bird Alert website stated that the red-flanked bluetail was found Feb. 13 by Colin McKenzie, and later confirmed by George Clulow and Mike Toochin. Both Clulow and Toochin have previously seen the red-flanked blu-etail in Asia.

“People spend their money and fly all over,” Butler said. “People have these lists. It’s pretty esoteric stuff. This is the first in Canada. For George, he was the first person to identify it.”

Butler said some bird watchers set goals of seeing how many species of birds they can view in a year. He noted that was the premise of the 2011 film, The Big Year.

“A lot of bird watchers, they have their life lists,” Butler said. “People have their own lists, they have their North American lists.”

Continued:  http://o.canada.com/2013/01/18/rare-bird-draws-tourists-to-queens-park/