James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
- Researchers have discovered several new species and subspecies of songbirds on the Indonesian archipelago of Wallacea.
- Typically, scientists only find five to six new bird species each year, so this is incredibly rare.
- Conservation efforts are needed to ensure that the new birds will be able to survive for more than a few years before being wiped out thanks to natural and man-made disasters like forest fires and logging.
During a time when so many animals are going extinct at unprecedented rates and droves of animals are dying in the Australian bushfires, here’s a small sign of hope: Researchers have discovered 10 new kinds of birds on the Indonesian islands that make up the archipelago of Wallacea.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) teamed up with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) to research avian diversity and found five new species and an additional five subspecies. The scientists published their research in Science, where they say these recent findings are especially significant because “identifying new taxa of charismatic vertebrates, like birds, is rare.”
The stats certainly back up the claim. Since 1999, researchers have only found an average of five to six new birds a year. That this study team hit the quota in one fell swoop, in a very “geographically limited area”—where there are endemic populations of animals living in isolation—is cause for celebration.
Frank Rheindt, associate professor of biological sciences at NUS, focused his research on Taliabu and Peleng, two islands within Wallacea. Additionally, Rheindt and his team put a lot of their efforts into surveying areas where explorers—like Sir Alfred Wallace, who the archipelago is named after—hadn’t spent much time in the past.
Science
Rheindt’s methodology paid off. He and his team discovered five new types of songbirds, including:
Taliabu
The three new species are the Taliabu Grasshopper-Warbler, Taliabu Myzomela, and the Taliabu Leaf-Warbler. The three subspecies are Taliabu Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Taliabu Island Thrush, and the Sula Mountain Leaftoiler.
Peleng
The two new species are the Peleng Fantail and the Peleng Leaf-Warbler. The new subspecies are the Banggai Mountain Leaftoiler.
Togian
The researchers found the Togian Jungle-Flycatcher on this island.
The study team hopes its discoveries will prompt conservation efforts, considering the amount of deforestation and forest fires that Taliabu and Peleng have seen.
“Long-lasting conservation action is needed for some of the new forms to survive longer than a couple of decades beyond their date of description,” Rheindt says in a press release.
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January 14, 2020 at 03:50AM
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