Declining but not (yet) threatened: a challenge for avian conservation in Australia

Bennett, Andrew F.; Haslem, Angie; Garnett, Stephen T.; Loyn, Richard H.; Woinarski, John C.Z.; Ehmke, Glenn

doi:10.1080/01584197.2023.2270568

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Given the rapidity and unpredictability of change landscapes are undergoing worldwide, it is crucial that methods to monitor species' habitat are dynamic enough to capture these changes so that species extinction risk can be reduced. The importance of monitoring common species' extinction risk (Bennett et al 2024;Lindenmayer et al 2011) puts additional stress on the limited resources available for conservation, making broadly applicable methods that can be readily updated and applied to large suites of species are particularly valuable. One potential method for detecting habitat loss, and for prioritising research effort, is the species' area of habitat concept (AOH, Brooks et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which birds have the most to lose? an analysis of bird species’ feeding habitat in changing Australian landscapes

Campbell,

Jones,

Awasthy

et al. 2024

Biodivers Conserv

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Australia has lost vast areas of its natural vegetation through agriculture and urbanization, resulting in the area of suitable habitat for many Australian bird species being greatly diminished. Given the geographical and ecological biases in anthropogenic land use, the impact of habitat loss now and into the future may be disproportionately high for some species, threatening their long-term persistence. Such changes are occurring rapidly, and habitat loss needs to be monitored dynamically to prevent extinction. To monitor changes in available unmodified species habitat, we use species’ area of feeding habitat (AFH), which represents the area of habitat within a species’ range with vegetation matching their feeding requirements. We analysed the past, current and future threats of habitat modification for 467 Australian bird species by calculating AFH across three time periods: pre-colonization, current (2020), and a projected future scenario (2100). These values were used to identify species subject to substantial habitat loss due to urbanization and agriculture and delineate predictors of such losses. Most species had experienced habitat loss since colonization (n = 442, 95%), and species that had already experienced considerable habitat loss were more likely to lose habitat into the future. Species with particular habitat associations (e.g., Mallee), were also more prone to greater proportions of habitat lost. The results highlight the utility of AFH and emphasize the importance of protecting what habitat remains for the species with highly depleted geographic ranges, noting that those that have experienced the most loss of unmodified habitat are the most likely to lose more unmodified habitat under future conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%