Over 1000 bird species driven to extinction in pacific

[Neil Fitzgerald]

1300 or so species I think was the number I heard on the radio. About 10% of the number of extant species in the world. Not that surprising in a way, given what we know of the effect of polynesian settlers here, and the effect on the smaller islands can be much worse.

"A new study suggests that over one thousand species of bird were driven to extinction by human colonisation of the Pacific Islands.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, says that when the first settlers arrived in the South Pacific, hunting and deforestation led bird species to die out rapidly.
The lead author of the study, Canberra University’s Professor Richard Duncan, says researchers analysed fossils and historical accounts of birds, before estimating the extinction rates on 41 different islands through a mathematical model."

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=74892

[Neil Fitzgerald]

More:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... e-off.html

[Steps]

I was reading a study a few years about the deforestisation of NZ...huge uncontroled burnoffs and such, and before European colonisation..which resulted in the extinction of large numbers of species....more than post European...
But its no longer PC to say that now.

[Anne Rimmer]

"the extinction of large numbers of species....more than post European...But its no longer PC to say that now." Steps, this fact may not be PC in some circles but I certainly say it when I'm guiding on Tiri, and giving talks to commmunity groups.