Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Birds' extinction danger underestimated

|
|
 
  
Published: Dec. 11, 2007 at 5:08 PM
Advertisement

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests range maps that incorrectly estimate the distribution of birds have overstated the actual population of threatened species.

"Our study found species ranges in general tend to get overestimated, but that this trend is particularly pronounced for birds that are threatened, rely on specialized diets or have small habitats," said University of California-San Diego Assistant Professor Walter Jetz, lead author of the study. "This suggests that many threatened species of birds may be even rarer than we believe and are in greater danger of going extinct."

The study's co-author, researcher Cagan Sekercioglu of Stanford University, added: "Our findings indicate that the ranges of most vulnerable bird species are experiencing the highest overestimation, thereby painting a rosier picture of their distributions than is actually the case. This suggests that the conservation status of many narrow-ranging, specialized and threatened bird species may be worse than we think."

The research by Jetz, Sekercioglu and James Watson of Britain's Oxford University is to appear in the February issue of the journal Conservation Biology and is now available online at the journal's Web site.

Topics: Walter Jetz
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Protesters, police clash at NATO summit Notable deaths of 2012 2012 Billboard Music Awards
The 137th Preakness Stakes Annual Solar eclipse occurs in U.S. Chen Guangcheng arrives in the U.S.
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 29
Members of the Army's Old Guard place flags at Arlington National Ceremtery
View Caption
U.S. flags are seen in the rucksack of a soldier with the Army's 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, as he places flags at gravesites in Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Flags-In Memorial Day ceremony on May 24, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. American flags were placed at each of the more than 220,000 grave markers in honor of those who served and Memorial Day. UPI/Kevin Dietshc
fark
Crimefighter who rides a chopper. In Afghanistan. And is a female. Don't mess with her
Daily Show writer partners with Slate to crowdsource ideas for amending and rewriting the Constitution....
Canada's national archives is being dismantled and scattered, who needs to remember the history...
Man disappears in Niagara Falls whirlpool; presumed to be spinning in his grave
Woman swallows toothbrush while brushing her teeth. Surgeons remove it before Oral B becomes Anal...
MSNBC Host Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' calling fallen military 'Heroes'