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Resources wasted in search for mammals
Source: Agencies |
September 30, 2010, Thursday
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MORE than a third of mammal species considered extinct or missing have been rediscovered, a study says, and a lot of effort is wasted in trying to find species that have no chance of being found again.
Species face an accelerated rate of extinction because of pollution, climate change, habitat loss and hunting and that this rate of loss is putting ecosystems and economies at ever greater risk, according to the United Nations.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia said a greater understanding of patterns of extinction could channel more resources to finding and protecting species listed as missing before it's too late.
"In the past people have been very happy to see individual species found again but they haven't looked at the bigger picture and realized that it's not random," said university research fellow Diana Fisher, lead author of the study.
Fisher and her colleague Simon Blomberg studied data on rediscovery rates of missing mammals to see if extinction from different causes is equally detectable. They also wanted to see which factors affected the probability of rediscovery.
They found that species affected by habitat loss were much more likely to be misclassified as extinct or to remain missing than those affected by introduced predators and diseases.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," the authors say.
Fisher said efforts to find missing species have led to success stories of animals and plants being rediscovered and the creation of protection programmes.
But the rediscoveries barely make a dent in the rate of species loss overall, Fisher said.
"The number of additions every year outweighs the number that have been rediscovered. There's still an accelerating rate of extinctions every year of mammals."
Species face an accelerated rate of extinction because of pollution, climate change, habitat loss and hunting and that this rate of loss is putting ecosystems and economies at ever greater risk, according to the United Nations.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia said a greater understanding of patterns of extinction could channel more resources to finding and protecting species listed as missing before it's too late.
"In the past people have been very happy to see individual species found again but they haven't looked at the bigger picture and realized that it's not random," said university research fellow Diana Fisher, lead author of the study.
Fisher and her colleague Simon Blomberg studied data on rediscovery rates of missing mammals to see if extinction from different causes is equally detectable. They also wanted to see which factors affected the probability of rediscovery.
They found that species affected by habitat loss were much more likely to be misclassified as extinct or to remain missing than those affected by introduced predators and diseases.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," the authors say.
Fisher said efforts to find missing species have led to success stories of animals and plants being rediscovered and the creation of protection programmes.
But the rediscoveries barely make a dent in the rate of species loss overall, Fisher said.
"The number of additions every year outweighs the number that have been rediscovered. There's still an accelerating rate of extinctions every year of mammals."
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