Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science have published new data showing that a large number of bird species became extinct primarily because of humans, Tengrinews.kz reported with reference to The Jerusalem Post.
According to the study, published in the Journal of Biogeography, about 10-20 percent of all bird species have become extinct in the past 20,000-50,000 years.
Experts note that the extinct species had several features in common: they were large, lived on islands, and many were flightless. According to the researchers, these features made them easy prey for humans and animals, which eventually led to the extinction of 469 bird species.
The scientists expressed hope that their findings would help prevent further bird extinctions.
“Our study shows that before the major extinction of the last millennia, there were many more large, even giant and flightless birds on Earth, and their diversity on islands was much greater than it is today. We hope that our findings will serve as warning signals about bird species that are currently threatened with extinction,” said Shai Meiri, professor in the George S. Wise School of Zoology in the Department of Natural Sciences.
He also noted that conditions have changed considerably and today the main cause of bird extinction is not hunting, but the destruction of natural habitat.
Earlier, scientists warned about the threat of extinction of a new species of whale found in the Gulf of Mexico.
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