Table of contents:
Sources
Research Questions
Notes - Research Questions
1. What is the definition of animal extinction?
2. How many native birds have we lost?
3. Why are native birds in danger?
4. What do we lose when native species go extinct?
5. How are people helping with this issue?
6. What are some solutions that we could take to save native bird species in nz?
Fertile Question: What is the best way to minimize the effects of extinction of native birds in NZ?
What is the definition of animal extinction?
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds, usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point.
Rates of extinction vary widely. For example, during the last 100,000 years of the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), some 40 percent of the existing genera of large mammals in Africa and more than 70 percent in North America, South America, and Australia went extinct.
Extinction is the dying out of a species. Extinction plays an important role in the evolution of life because it opens up opportunities for new species to emerge
Extinction helps drive the evolution of life. Over long periods of time, the number of species becoming extinct can remain fairly constant, meaning that an average number of species go extinct each year, century, or millennium.
Extinction is the complete disappearance of a species from Earth. Species go extinct every year, but historically the average rate of extinction has been very slow with a few exceptions.
Our planet is dependent on an interconnected system. If we lose one species, how does that impact the whole system? What if we lose hundreds?
Extinction is an evolutive process that leads to the disappearance of a species or a population. When a species becomes extinct, its entire genetic heritage is lost for good.
With evolution, a species can become another in order to adapt to the small environmental changes or due to casual changes in its genetic heritage. This process is known as speciation, in other words the birth of a new species.
Speciation and extinction are both part of the natural evolutive process of living beings. Therefore, the natural extinction of a species in itself must not be interpreted as a negative event (nor, obviously, as a positive event), but it must be considered simply for what it is, in other words, an expression of biological evolution.
there are five main causes of extinction. Extinction can be caused by different elements including catastrophic events, disease, predators, climate change, and competition.
How many native birds have gone extinct in NZ?
https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/how-identify-new-zealand-birds
New Zealand is home to over 200 native bird species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.
About 50% of NZ bird species have become extinct since the Polynesians came and so can be seen and illustrated by skins preserved in museums.
There are about 68,000 kiwi left in the wild.
Assignment Asia: Saving New Zealand's birds
It is estimated that 25 million native birds are getting killed every year.
The loss of diversity is still going on, 80% of New zealand's remaining native birds are endangered.
If we didn’t have pests, vegetation that was previously destroyed would start to flourish and because of this, birds would be everywhere.
Book Called Endangered animals of australia, new zealand and pacific islands.
Scientists point to a number of reasons why nz birds are extinct, cats, dogs, and us humans.
Human related extinctions have resulted from excessive hunting for meat, body parts, or sport.
There are many reasons why NZ birds are extinct but it's mostly because of pests killing their chicks and taking eggs to eat.
The other is due to hunting, the polynesians and europeans ate them for meat, sports, and selling skin.
The extinction of them started to get worse as time progressed, they cut down trees and their environment was getting destroyed.
From the time of first human settlement until 1994, 43 (or 46%) of the 93 endemic land, freshwater and coastal bird species have become extinct, as have 4 of the 22 endemic seabird species (making 41% of all endemic species extinct), according to a 1997 report.
Why are native birds in danger?
Why NZ's native birds are closer to extinction than 40 years ago - NZ Herald
The top human causes of bird extinction involve: the increased human population, destruction of habitat (through development for habitation, logging, animal and single-crop agriculture, and invasive plants), bird trafficking, egg collecting, pollution (in fertilizers impacting native plants and diversity, pesticides,
Due to habitat loss, their historical use as a food source by Māori, and predation by introduced species, many birds have become extinct and numerous more are threatened with extinction. Huge conservation efforts are being made to save the takahē, kakapo, mohua, kokako, hihi and the kiwi.
Disease is a major source of mortality for birds, and may be the underlying cause of death in many cases of predation. Most avian diseases are fairly specific, such as the conjunctivitis eye disease that hit House Finches hard in the eastern states.
Due to habitat loss, their historical use as a food source by Māori, and predation by introduced species, many birds have become extinct and numerous more are threatened with extinction.
Huge conservation efforts are being made to save the takahē, kakapo, mohua, kokako, hihi and the kiwi. One well documented conservation success story, due in a large part to the efforts of Don Merton, is the saving of the black robin on the Chatham Islands.
Fifteen species extinctions have occurred since 1840 (this count will have risen to 16 when the North Island snipe was raised from subspecies to species level). According to the 2005 New Zealand Threat Classification System list, 153 species or subspecies were then threatened with extinction.
When humans arrived in New Zealand about 700 years ago the environment changed quickly. Several species were hunted to extinction.
There are a number of physical and behavioral traits which can make New Zealand's native bird species particularly vulnerable to introduced predators. In the absence of mammalian predators some, like the kiwi, evolved to become flightless
Others forage on the ground or nest in tree cavities where not only the chicks, but also the incubating parent can be trapped by tree-climbing predators.
Identifying which of these traits are most associated with vulnerability to predators could allow the most at risk of our remaining bird species to be identified and their recovery better managed, for example, through targeted predator control in the areas where those species can still be found.
What do we lose when native species go extinct?
Endangered Species | National Geographic Society
As species go extinct, they are taken out of the food chain. Animals that ate
the newly-extinct species have to find new food sources or starve. This can damage the populations of other plants or animals. Furthermore, if a predator goes extinct, its prey's population can proliferate, unbalancing local ecosystems.
Scientists have also discovered links between the incidence of West Nile virus and hantavirus and local reductions in biodiversity. Animal extinctions may also rob humans of valuable medical advancements. Many different species have unique bodily processes that can offer insight into curing human disease.
The primary effect of habitat destruction is a reduction in biodiversity, which refers to the variety and abundance of different species of animals and plants in a particular setting. When an animal loses the natural home or habitat that it needs to survive, its numbers decline rapidly, and it moves toward extinction.
The Effects of Endangered Species - Environment Co
Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. A loss of habitat can happen naturally. Dinosaurs, for instance, lost their habitat about 65 million years ago.
Habitat loss, driven primarily by human expansion as we develop land for housing, agriculture, and commerce—is the biggest threat facing most animal species, followed by hunting and fishing. Even when habitat is not lost entirely, it may be changed so much that animals cannot adapt.
Well, according to new research published December 2 in Nature, the answer is yes—healthy biodiversity is essential to human health. As species disappear, infectious diseases rise in humans and throughout the animal kingdom, so extinctions directly affect our health and chances for survival as a species.
PDF file about animal extinction
Scientists say their loss has played a role in pandemics, fires, the decline of valued species and the rise of invasive ones, the reduction of ecosystem services, and decreased carbon sequestration.
If the animals (insects that pollinate) most flowering plants would be unable to reproduce and would go extinct. Both plants and animals undergo cellular respiration producing Carbon Dioxide. Animals produce only Carbon Dioxide while plants produce both Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen.
The primary effect of habitat destruction is a reduction in biodiversity, which refers to the variety and abundance of different species of animals and plants in a particular setting. When an animal loses the natural home or habitat that it needs to survive, its numbers decline rapidly, and it moves toward extinction.
How are people helping with this issue?
https://wildanimalhealthfund.org/2021/03/10-ways-you-can-help-endangered-animals/
Visit a national park, wildlife refuge, or protected area, Reduce, reuse, recycle. Don't purchase items like ivory, real tortoise shells, coral, etc. Spread the word! Donate to organizations created to help our zoo animals and wildlife and Grow native plants!
Visit a national wildlife refuge, park or other open space These protected lands provide habitat to many native wildlife, birds, fish and plants. Scientists tell us the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the places where they live.
Herbicides and pesticides may keep yards looking nice but they are in fact hazardous pollutants that affect wildlife at many levels. Many herbicides and pesticides take a long
time to degrade and build up in the soils or throughout the food chain. Predators such as hawks, owls and coyotes can be harmed if they eat poisoned animals. Some groups of animals such as amphibians are particularly vulnerable to these chemical pollutants and suffer greatly as a result of the high levels of herbicides and pesticides in their habitat. For alternatives to pesticides.
https://www.endangered.org/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-save-endangered-species/
Scientists tell us the best way to protect endangered species is to protect the places where they live. Get involved by volunteering at your local nature center or wildlife refuge. Go wildlife or bird watching in nearby parks. Wildlife related recreation creates millions of jobs and supports local businesses.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/amazing-ways-conserve-and-protect-birds.php
Mark Window, Keep the Pets Indoors, Use Natural Pest Control, Vote Against the Use of Chemical Pesticides, Do Not Purchase Birds Illegally, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (global warming increases pest numbers that kill birds such as ticks) Join Conservation Groups
What is the best way to minimize the effects of extinction of native birds in NZ?
There are many simple things that we could do to minimize the decline of NZ bird species. Traps are a big one, this is because pests are one of the big causes of bird extinction in New zealand. The downside to this is that we would have to check the trap at least once a week or even earlier than that.
Sanctuaries are a great idea, it protects our flightless birds and the sanctuaries have not pests at all and a study was done to see what the forest would look like without pests, forests flourishes and it starts to grow. With sanctuaries, the down side to it is that it takes ages to build.
Pesticides can come with many positive and negative effects, with pesticides, it can easily kill pests that are shrinking our bird population. The bad side of this is that it can kill our birds as well but only some.
Me and Harry have decided that the best option to help minimize the effects of bird extinction in New Zealand is sanctuaries. We choose this option because sanctuaries don't harm the birds and there are absolutely no pests as well so they live free in such a big area.
https://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/ - Bird Sanctuary