Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species – twice as many as previously thought – with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found.
Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species – twice as many as previously thought – with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found.
Many of the world’s islands were previously untouched paradises, but the arrival of people to places like Hawaii, Tonga and the Azores led, over time, to far-reaching impacts including deforestation, overhunting and the introduction of invasive species. Consequently, bird species were wiped out.
While the demise of many birds since the 1500s has been recorded, our knowledge of the fate of species before this relies on fossils, and these records are limited because birds’ lightweight bones disintegrate over time. This conceals the true extent of global extinctions.
Read More: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Photo Credit: giani via Pixabay
