Birds are not only becoming extinct but could lose the characteristics that differentiate species

July 21 () –

New research warns that For birds, the loss of biodiversity due to climate change has implications that go beyond the loss of species.since in addition to extinction they face the possibility of losing the characteristics that make each species unique.

In the study, published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers use statistical models to predict that extinction will decrease morphological diversity among the remaining birds at a greater rate than species loss alone. The team’s results reveal which birds we are at risk of losing and which regions are most likely to homogenize.

Emma Hughes, a bird researcher at the University of Sheffield in the UK, has spent her career examining broad morphological traits in birds; for example, she has studied the distribution of different beak shapes worldwide.

“I started wondering what would happen with global change,” he recalls. Not just how traits are currently distributed globally, but what might happen to morphological and phylogenetic diversity in a global extinction crisis“.

“When species go extinct, the traits they represent are expected to be lost as well,” he adds. that could predict the mere loss of species. This is really important because that can lead to a great loss of ecological strategies and functions.“.

Diversity loss is more likely to affect birds with extreme traits. Bird size and shape vary greatly throughout the class, from the gigantic flightless ostrich to the tiny hummingbird.

“These are the kind of species that one would expect to be most at risk of extinction,” he says. We find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that larger and smaller species are likely to be most at risk of extinction“.

Not only are certain birds more at risk of losing diversity, but certain regions are also more likely to be left with homogenized populations. “The Himalayan mountains and foothills are particularly at risk, and the loss of trait diversity is likely to be considerable,” he said. The dry and humid forests of southern Vietnam and Cambodia are also vulnerable“.

Hughes and his team hope their work will help understand the ways biodiversity loss will change the world. “The global extinction crisis doesn’t just mean we’re losing species –warns– It means we are losing unique traits and evolutionary history, including species that could confer unique benefits to humanity that are currently unknown.”