human beings ’s colonization of the globe over the past 50,000 age has had some prettycatastrophic consequencesfor other species , admit several hundred type of bird . According to a new study in theJournal of Biogeography , human activity have have theextinctionof at least 469 avian coinage since the end of the Pleistocene , including more than two - third base of all flightless birds .
The study authors examined the scientific lit relating to all avian species that have become out worldwide in the last 50 millennia . In doing so , they noticed a numeral of clean patterns that strongly paint a picture that our ancestors were the primary drive military force behind many of these extinctions .
Notably , 90 pct of all extinct dame lived on island and disappeared briefly after the reaching of humankind . This seems middling logical , as birds and their eggs would have been preyed on by people and other animal that may have tag along with these bipedal immigrants .
The researcher also found 116 examples offlightless birdsthat have become extinct within this timeframe . Given that there are only 54 species of flightless bird alive today , this frame represents a huge proportion of all grounded avian metal money to have existed over the retiring 50,000 years .
by nature , flightless birds make easier prey than those that can take to the skies , so it make sense that their numeral would have plummet once humans enter their habitats . In New Zealand , for example , 11 different species of flightless moa became out within a few centuries of gentleman ’s arrival .
Additional analysis revealed that the mediocre body mass of allextinct bird specieswas around seven times greater than that of extant avian varieties . This finding imply that larger hoot were significantly more likely to be hunted by humans , and aligns with previous studies which have indicated that larger animals tend to be the first to become out once masses make it in a new location .
“ totally we were able to list 469 avian species that became nonextant over the last 50,000 yr , but we believe that the real number is much high , ” said study source Professor Shai Meiri in astatement . In their write - up , the researchers explain that this suspicion is support by the fact that “ many fossilized birds were found that are not yet fully described … and were thus excluded from our study . ”
In increase to highlighting the annihilating impact that humans have had on other animals throughout history , the findings of this study also enhance our savvy of the avian creature that existed in the past times .
For case , the researchers reason that “ [ b]efore the Pleistocene - Holocene extinctions , many more metal money of Bronx cheer were large or even gigantic , ” while “ [ f]lightlessness , a uncommon trait today , was much more uncouth . ”
