Victoria facing a wave of extinctions
Posted on 4 November, 2009 by Connecting Country
Victoria could be facing a wave of extinctions following a dramatic crash in bird numbers in the state’s Box-Ironbark forests.
The dire warning comes from new research by leading ecologists Professor Ralph Mac Nally (Director of the Australian Centre for Biodiversity at Monash University), Professor Andrew Bennett and Dr Jim Radford (both from Deakin University).
A systematic study across northern and central Victoria over the past 15 years has shown that about two-thirds of bird species, including lorikeets, pardalotes, thornbills and honeyeaters, have declined dramatically.
Most worrying is that species thought to be secure, such as the Red Wattlebird, Striated Pardalote, Grey Shrikethrush and Laughing Kookaburra, have declined as much as or more than species already of conservation concern.
Read more:
Birds in serious decline after extended drought – The Age
Native bird populations declining rapidly – The 7.30 Report
Comments are closed.