La Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza ha publicado la actualización más reciente de la Lista Roja de Especies Amenazadas. Según este documento, cinco especies de fresno en EE UU y los antílopes africanos han pasado a estar en peligro de extinción. Además, el murciélago de la Isla de Navidad en Australia se ha extinguido.
"Major threats: The reasons for the decline and ultimate extinction of P. murrayi remain unclear. While habitat loss may have caused some declines in the past, 75% of Christmas Island is covered by primary or secondary rainforest, with little change in the amount of available habitat during the period of decline. Furthermore, most of the species’ range was within a National Park. The major threats to the species may have included predation or disturbance to bats within their roosts from introduced species, e.g. Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus), Feral Cat (Felis catus), Black Rat (Rattus rattus) and Giant Centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) (Lumsden et al. 2007). Although not considered the primary cause of decline, as the spatio-temporal pattern did not closely match the pipistrelle’s decline, a series of recent population explosions of Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) is likely to have led to some habitat change, likely decline in invertebrate prey resources, and may also have disturbed individuals at roost sites. It is also possible that some disease may have contributed to the decline, however, individuals captured over the period of decline appeared to be in good health, with the exception of low white blood cell counts, although the significance of these findings was unclear (Lumsden et al. 2007). Even the last known individual appeared to behave normally before it vanished"
Lo pongo antes de que el primer alarmista de turno le eche la culpa como siempre a la humanidad en general o al cambio climático en particular. La causa más probable es la introducción de especies invasoras, como ocurre en el 95% de las extinciones de especies con hábitats reducidos a una sola isla perdida en alguna parte.
Comentarios
De la Red List:
"Major threats: The reasons for the decline and ultimate extinction of P. murrayi remain unclear. While habitat loss may have caused some declines in the past, 75% of Christmas Island is covered by primary or secondary rainforest, with little change in the amount of available habitat during the period of decline. Furthermore, most of the species’ range was within a National Park. The major threats to the species may have included predation or disturbance to bats within their roosts from introduced species, e.g. Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus), Feral Cat (Felis catus), Black Rat (Rattus rattus) and Giant Centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) (Lumsden et al. 2007). Although not considered the primary cause of decline, as the spatio-temporal pattern did not closely match the pipistrelle’s decline, a series of recent population explosions of Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) is likely to have led to some habitat change, likely decline in invertebrate prey resources, and may also have disturbed individuals at roost sites. It is also possible that some disease may have contributed to the decline, however, individuals captured over the period of decline appeared to be in good health, with the exception of low white blood cell counts, although the significance of these findings was unclear (Lumsden et al. 2007). Even the last known individual appeared to behave normally before it vanished"
Lo pongo antes de que el primer alarmista de turno le eche la culpa como siempre a la humanidad en general o al cambio climático en particular. La causa más probable es la introducción de especies invasoras, como ocurre en el 95% de las extinciones de especies con hábitats reducidos a una sola isla perdida en alguna parte.