Ciekawostka: Ninety percent of all species that have become extinct have been birds

Evidence: 69 • authority: 92

Species introductions shift seed dispersal potential more than extinctions across 120 island plant-frugivore communities.. Oceanic islands are hotspots of both species extinctions and introductions, which led to marked changes in species composition. This may disrupt key ecological interactions, such as animal-mediated seed dispersal, with potential long-term impacts on ecosystem structure and functioning. While some recent studies on individual taxa and islands report functional shifts, there has been no globally comprehensive study of how these changes vary in intensity and direction across islands. Importantly, it remains unclear how changes in traits of animal communities actually trans…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 92

Taking stock: Can captive species contribute to biodiversity conservation?. Strategic collection planning is a central component of contemporary zoological institutions, yet its underlying motivations remain debated. Zoos are recognised as contributing to biodiversity conservation, although it is unclear whether individual collections reflect this role. As visitor-derived income is the primary revenue source for most zoos, collection planning may favour large, traditionally charismatic species that attract public interest, potentially creating tension between conservation objectives and financial sustainability. Previous studies have identified a bias towards non-threatened species, but the…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

Extinction is the termination of a species via the death of its last member. A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover. As a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if prokaryotes a…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

Birds are vertebrate animals constituting the class Aves, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. They are warm-blooded, live worldwide, and range in size from the 5.5 cm (2.2 in) bee hummingbird to the 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species of birds, classified in 44 orders. More than half of the world's bird species are passerine or "perching" birds. Nearly all birds have wings whose development varies according to the life style of each species. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 80

Appendix II. Hawaiian Birds of Conservation Concern and Extinct Species

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

Prehistoric and Indigenous cultures significantly transformed their environments by constructing irrigation systems and terraces, building roads and structures, clearing forests, hunting wildlife, growing crops, and managing livestock. These behaviors were common in most habitats where humans lived, and they ushered in the Anthropocene era – the epoch defined by major human impacts on the Earth. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers used fire to clear dense vegetation, improve mobility, and facilitate hunting. The development of agriculture accelerated the impact of humans on the surrounding landscapes. Farming often required clearing cropland, preparing soils, diverting or controlling water, and cu…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species. The scientific name also refers to its migratory characteristics. The morphologically similar mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) was long thought to be its closest relative, and the two were at times confused, but genetic analysis has shown that the genus Patagioenas is more closely related to it than the Zenaida doves. The passenger pigeon was sexually dimorphic in size and coloration. The male was 390 to 410 mm (15.4 to 16.1 in) in length, mai…

Evidence: — • authority: 35