Study: 610 Kinds of Birds Have Disappeared in Past 130,000 Years
2024-10-14
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1New research says that 610 bird species have died off over the past 130,000 years.
2For instance, the Kaua'i 'ō'ō, a Hawaiian songbird, was declared extinct just last year.
3The recent research also suggested that an "ongoing biodiversity crisis" that requires urgent study is taking place.
4Bird species have a special purpose within the environment.
5When a bird species disappears, nothing remains to do its job, suggested Tom Matthews of the University of Birmingham in England.
6Matthews was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in the publication Science.
7Matthews said that birds do many important jobs in an environment.
8These jobs include spreading seeds, eating insects, or reusing dead material.
9Vultures, for example, eat the flesh of dead animals.
10Matthews said a good example of the importance of birds is "on the islands of Mauritius and Hawaii, where all or almost all the native...birds that eat fruit...have gone extinct."
11He explained, "In eating the fruits and then moving around, birds will disperse the seeds of the plants the fruits belong to."
12The lack of seed spreading can have secondary effects, Matthews said. For example, Mauritius now has many threatened tree species.
13Most of the documented extinctions have taken place on islands.
14The loss of living areas for birds can have big effects given the limited area involved.
15Many island birds are flightless, meaning they cannot fly away to escape predators.
16As a result, flightless birds are easily hurt by new predators, such as rats or cats, Matthews suggested.
17Human hunting of birds was a big reason behind the disappearance of different bird species in the past.
18Bird hunting remains a big problem in some areas.
19Capturing birds for the songbird trade is a big problem, particularly in Southeast Asia, Matthews said.
20Some areas and species had more exact reasons for bird disappearances.
21For example, avian malaria, introduced by people, has resulted in large numbers of extinctions in Hawaii where the birds possessed no natural immunity.
22Matthews suggested that the effects of a changing climate on birds remains a "big unknown."
23Many birds have been lost over time.
24The large flightless "elephant birds" were native to Madagascar.
25The bird is believed to have disappeared after people arrived.
26That includes Aepyornis maximus.
27It was about 3 meters tall and was possibly the largest bird that ever existed.
28The flightless moa birds, native to New Zealand, including the South Island giant moa, also disappeared after humans came to the islands.
29North America's passenger pigeon numbered in the billions but was hunted to extinction.
30The researchers said the 610 bird species combined represented 3 billion years of evolutionary history.
31Each lost species is like cutting off a branch from the tree of life.
32The number 610 is "likely a large underestimate" of avian extinctions, Matthews said.
33This is because of a lack of data from some areas and the fact some lost species may not have left behind bones or other evidence.
34Matthews added, "the vast majority of extinctions over the last 50,000 years are attributable to human actions."
35About 11,000 bird species now exist.
36The researchers projected future extinctions of more than 1,000 species over the next two hundred years.
37"So even if you don't care about the moral and ethical concerns regarding the loss of species, these extinctions are important for other reasons, such as the loss of species that helped the environment to function effectively," Matthews added.
38I'm John Russell.
1New research says that 610 bird species have died off over the past 130,000 years. 2For instance, the Kaua'i 'ō'ō, a Hawaiian songbird, was declared extinct just last year. 3The recent research also suggested that an "ongoing biodiversity crisis" that requires urgent study is taking place. 4Bird species have a special purpose within the environment. When a bird species disappears, nothing remains to do its job, suggested Tom Matthews of the University of Birmingham in England. Matthews was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in the publication Science. 5Matthews said that birds do many important jobs in an environment. These jobs include spreading seeds, eating insects, or reusing dead material. Vultures, for example, eat the flesh of dead animals. 6Matthews said a good example of the importance of birds is "on the islands of Mauritius and Hawaii, where all or almost all the native...birds that eat fruit...have gone extinct." 7He explained, "In eating the fruits and then moving around, birds will disperse the seeds of the plants the fruits belong to." The lack of seed spreading can have secondary effects, Matthews said. For example, Mauritius now has many threatened tree species. 8Most of the documented extinctions have taken place on islands. 9The loss of living areas for birds can have big effects given the limited area involved. Many island birds are flightless, meaning they cannot fly away to escape predators. 10As a result, flightless birds are easily hurt by new predators, such as rats or cats, Matthews suggested. 11Human hunting of birds was a big reason behind the disappearance of different bird species in the past. Bird hunting remains a big problem in some areas. Capturing birds for the songbird trade is a big problem, particularly in Southeast Asia, Matthews said. 12Some areas and species had more exact reasons for bird disappearances. For example, avian malaria, introduced by people, has resulted in large numbers of extinctions in Hawaii where the birds possessed no natural immunity. 13Matthews suggested that the effects of a changing climate on birds remains a "big unknown." 14Many birds have been lost over time. 15The large flightless "elephant birds" were native to Madagascar. The bird is believed to have disappeared after people arrived. That includes Aepyornis maximus. It was about 3 meters tall and was possibly the largest bird that ever existed. 16The flightless moa birds, native to New Zealand, including the South Island giant moa, also disappeared after humans came to the islands. 17North America's passenger pigeon numbered in the billions but was hunted to extinction. 18The researchers said the 610 bird species combined represented 3 billion years of evolutionary history. Each lost species is like cutting off a branch from the tree of life. 19The number 610 is "likely a large underestimate" of avian extinctions, Matthews said. This is because of a lack of data from some areas and the fact some lost species may not have left behind bones or other evidence. 20Matthews added, "the vast majority of extinctions over the last 50,000 years are attributable to human actions." 21About 11,000 bird species now exist. The researchers projected future extinctions of more than 1,000 species over the next two hundred years. 22"So even if you don't care about the moral and ethical concerns regarding the loss of species, these extinctions are important for other reasons, such as the loss of species that helped the environment to function effectively," Matthews added. 23I'm John Russell. 24Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25_____________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27species - n. a class of animals having common attributes and designated by a common name 28extinct - adj. no longer existing 29disperse - v. to cause to become spread widely 30predator -n. an animal that hunts and eats other animals 31vast -adj. very great in size or extent 32attributable - adj. to be explained by indicating a cause 33ethical -adj. related to questions of right or wrong 34function - v. to operate or be in action