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Aussie researchers reveal decline of native bird habitats

Researchers at the Queensland University have shown how large numbers of Australia's endangered native birdlife have been driven out of their historical habitats since the nation was first colonised nearly 250 years ago.

The research, published in the Environmental Research Letters journal and released to the public on Monday, showed that 70 percent of Australia's land had lost at least one species of endangered bird.

Lead author on the joint study and conservation scientist at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia Michelle Ward said these latest findings should be extremely shocking to conservationists and everyday Australians alike.

"Australia is celebrated globally as having some of the most intact ecosystems on the planet, but there's been a mass local extinction of wild animals across much of the continent."

The research focused on 72 endangered bird species, including the black cockatoo and regent honeyeater. It showed that 530 million hectares of land across Australia had lost at least one of the studied species.

"And 10 (of the 72) birds have become locally extinct from 99 percent of their historical habitat, with their remaining habitats having become much more fragmented," said Ward.

For instance, the regent honeyeater, one of Australia's most beloved and iconic birds, used to be "in flocks of thousands" in the states of South Australian and Queensland. Now its population has shrunk into the hundreds across several locations in New South Wales.

She said bird species had primarily been relegated to smaller and smaller areas of habitation since European colonisation in the late 1700s, and in the last 250 years 22 native birds have already been driven to extinction.

"Since European colonisation, human activities associated with forestry, agricultural development, urbanisation and mining have been driving -- and continue to drive -- extinctions and diminish populations."

This has further been exacerbated in recent years due to increased numbers of wild cats that prey on native bird species, and the increased severity and frequency of major bushfires -- as seen in the 2019-20 bushfires across Australia's east coast.

Ward said she hoped this research would stoke a sense of urgency and drive policy reform that would better protect native species.

"It's time we provide a more nuanced and species-specific approach to recovering these imperilled birds."

Source:Xinhua  Editor:zouyukun

(Source_title:Aussie researchers reveal decline of native bird habitats)

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