Sections
Log in
Top News
U.S. News World News Featured Voices
Odd News
Entertainment
Movies Music TV
Sports
Soccer NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Horse Racing Tennis Col. Football Col. Basketball
Photos
News Entertainment Sports Features Archives
More...
Defense Featured Science Health Archive Almanac
About Feedback
About Feedback
Search
Trending
Deputy AG
Venezuela
Climate change
Meth bust
Michael Cohen
Vladimir Putin
Moon lander
Champions League
SeaWorld rescue
Montana
Allison Janney
Science News
Jan. 9, 2017 / 3:41 PM

Study: Recovery of Caribbean bats would take 8 million years

"This incredibly long time required to restore diversity reveals the staggering consequences of extinctions," said researcher Liliana Dávalos.

By
Brooks Hays
New research considers how long it would take for natural forces to restore biodiversity among bat populations in the Caribbean. Photo by Marcin Bielecki/European Pressphoto Agency

STONY BROOK, N.Y., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a model to estimate how long evolutionary forces would take to restore natural balance among mammalian communities plagued by extinction.

For the Caribbean's New World leaf-nosed bats, the most varied and diverse bat family, the process would take at least 8 million years.

Since the arrival of humans, dozens of Caribbean bat species have gone extinct. Over the last 20,000 years, a third of all bat species across the Greater Antilles have disappeared.

It's difficult to determine whether or not -- or to what extent -- humans are responsible for these extinctions. To quantify the influence of human colonization on bat extinctions, Liliana Dávalos, a professor of ecology and evolution at Stony Brook, developed biogeographical models.

Dávalos and her colleagues used a wealth of paleontological and evolutionary New World bat data -- including data on both living and extinct species -- to build the models. Their work revealed an equilibrium of biodiversity for millions of years prior to the arrival of humans, and allowed researchers to simulate how long it would take natural forces to reinstate equilibrium sans human interference.

"Remarkably, it would take at least 8 million years to regain the species lost," Dávalos said in a news release. "This incredibly long time required to restore diversity reveals the staggering consequences of extinctions, many caused by humans, on the long-term ecology of islands."

Dávalos and her researcher partners detailed their new model in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Read More

Greenland fossils showcase recovery from extinction event 252 million years ago Faulty fossil record analysis plagues studies of evolution, biodiversity Study: Largest marine species most likely to be wiped out by humans Better conservation could prevent most island vertebrate extinctions, research shows
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more UPI news and photos.

Trending Stories

Climate change: Winters of future will be colder -- and also warmer
SpaceIL teams with SpaceX for first first private moon lander mission
Scientists find tanner crabs feeding on seafloor methane vent
New radio sky survey reveals 300,000 new galaxies
Stonehenge's bluestones traced to 5,000-year-old Welsh quarries

Photo Gallery

 
Balloons take flight at Al-Ula Balloon Festival in Saudi Arabia

Latest News

'Fearless Girl' artist faces lawsuit over selling replicas
U.S. Navy: Venezuela military, 'save your people'
Famous birthdays for Feb. 21: Jordan Peele, Jennifer Love Hewitt
On This Day: Nicaraguan rebel leader Sandino killed
UPI Almanac for Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
 
Back to Article
/
Back to top
About UPI Contact Feedback Advertisements Submit News Tips
Copyright © 2019 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy