Global bird populations face dramatic decline in coming decades, study predicts

Ten percent of all bird species are likely to disappear by the year 2100, and another 15 percent could be on the brink of extinction, according to a new study by Stanford University biologists. This dramatic loss is expected to have a negative impact on forest ecosystems and agriculture worldwide and may even encourage the spread of human diseases, according to the study published in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in December. Click to see full article.

This article is from www.scienceblog.com.

These are some of the stark messages from State of the Worlds Birds, a new publication and website (birdlife.org/sowb) launched today at BirdLife International’s World Conference in Buenos Aires.

This article is from www.birdlife.org.

Biodiversity is increasingly being recognized as socially and economically important because of the valuable services it provides. The authors of this latest research – John Swaddle and Stavros Calos – highlighted the “increasing evidence for economically valuable ecosystem services provided by biodiversity.”

West Nile Virus mainly affects birds but can be transferred to humans via mosquitoes. It first spread to North America in 2002, and since that time it has reached an epidemic scale with over 28,000 human cases – including 1,100 deaths – being reported. The cost of West Nile virus-related healthcare in the United States was estimated at $200 million in 2002 alone.

The virus is also an important threat to bird populations. Over 300 species act as hosts, although American Robin Turdus migratorius has been named as largely responsible for transmission from birds to humans. “West Nile virus may compound existing pressures – like habitat loss – to increase the risk of extinction for species,” commented Dr Butchart. Click to see full article.

This article is from www.birdlife.org.

People are less likely to get Lyme disease if they live in areas with a greater diversity of small mammals, according to the June issue of Conservation Biology.

The ozone hole and the greenhouse effect have entered our public vocabulary, be we have no catchy label for the third great environmental problem of the late-20th Century. It’s even more diffuse than depletion of the ozone layer or global warming, harder to grasp and summarize. The experts call it “the loss of biodiversity.”

Biodiversity obviously has something to do with pandas, tigers and tropical forests. But preserving biodiversity is a much bigger job than protecting rainforests or charismatic megafauna. It’s the job of protecting all life – microscopic creepy-crawlers as well as elephants and condors – and all life’s habitats – tundra, prairie and swamp as well as forests.

Why do we care about red squirrels, for instance?

“Do we have to save every subspecies?” asked the U.S. Interior secretary, Manual Lujan Jr., on Thursday. He called for changes in the Endangered Species Act, because it is blocking construction of a $200-million telescope on Mt. Graham in Arizona, the habitat for about 180 endangered squirrels.

Why care about tundra, swamp, blue beetles or little bluestem grasses? Ecologists giver three reasons, which boil down to simple self-interest on three levels of escalating importance.

Biodiversity has both immediate and potential economic value. This is the argument most commonly put forward to defend biodiversity, because it’s the one our culture is most ready to hear. It cites the importance of the industries most directly dependent upon nature – fisheries, forestry, tourism, recreation and the harvesting of wild foods, medicines, dyes, rubber and chemicals.  Click to see full article.

This article was written by Donnella H. Meadows, an adjunct professor of environmental and policy studies at Darmouth College.

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About Time

Imagine a global economy offering fair opportunities to everyone and hope of a better future for all of our children. Efforts to attain that dream will do more to stop terrorism and avoid war than would any homeland security system or deadly weapon.

Diseases are evolving into strains that are far more dangerous and difficult to treat.

New strains of tuberculosis, staff and e-coli resist our most powerful antibiotics –

subjecting their victims to horrible deaths.

Diseases carried by insects, rats and mice may prove impossible to contain.

Malaria kills a million people each year – mostly in Africa, but also in Latin America.

The West Nile Virus, also carried by mosquitoes, successfully migrated to the United

States  and pose a serious health risk.

In a natural environment, birds, bats, frogs and turtles keep insect populations under

control, creating a buffer zone between dangerous microbes and human beings.

Deforestation and pollution kill billions of birds, bats, frogs and turtles allowing insect

populations to surge by the hundreds of billions.

Insects that carry diseases thrive on rodents.  As we destroy foxes, wolves and birds of

prey, rodent populations are exploding.

To make matters worse, insects have evolved into strains that resist our highly toxic

pesticides. Pesticides that are not powerful enough to control insect populations are strong

enough to kill birds, bats, frogs and turtles.

Mainstream media focuses on individual “endangered species.” This kind of story guides public attention away from the most serious problems created by pollution, climate change and deforestation.

The most widespread stories portray struggles between environmentalists and

businessmen. A typical story involves animal advocates that are suing somebody in an

attempt to save spotted owls or tree frogs by halting an attractive construction project or

preventing logging operations.  In these stories, tree huggers are demanding that our

Government sacrifice economic prosperity for the sake of an obscure “endangered”

species.

We, the people, need more coverage of scientific studies showing the risk to human life

posed by pandemics.

We need more coverage of scientific studies showing that human life depends on

biodiversity.

Bill Jemas, Peacepaint CEO