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| Query: First bird | Result: 163rd of 1073 | |
Green-fronted Hanging-parrot, Loriculus tener
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File Size: 15239 Bytes
Upload Date: 2008:01:28 20:30:00
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Human Thirst for Palm Oil Wipes Out Rare Forest Birds
"Examining the satellite images of New Britain, we were struck immediately by the clear and extensive loss of forest in many parts of the island," explained Dr. Graeme Buchanan of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and lead author of the paper. "Deforestation was particular severe in the flat coastal lowlands."
The scientists then overlaid the maps of forest loss with known habitat preferences of New Britain's birds. These analyses suggested that extensive habitat loss will have forced significant declines for 21 of the island's bird species, bringing some to the edge of extinction.
"By comparing this information against the altitudinal ranges of each of the birds that live in New Britain, we estimated the potential effects on species ??? a ???before and after' of disappearing habitat, and of disappearing populations," said Buchanan.
Green-fronted Hanging-parrot, Loriculus tener
(Photo credit unknown)
This study is the first time that that the use of satellite imagery has been used to determine the likely threat status of a complete set of birds present in a given region or locality.
The technique has potential for use in other places where field data are lacking in areas that may be too extensive or too difficult to survey on the ground, as is the case on New Britain.
The island of New Britain is inhabited by many rare and unusual bird species. Those most affected by deforestation on the island only occur in the lowlands and cannot tolerate degraded or non-forest habitats. |
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