The latest long-term, large-scale study indicates that multiple species of birds in Taiwan have declined sharply over the past decade, the Endemic Species Research Institute said yesterday.
The institute said that the Taiwan Breeding Bird Survey is conducted annually by 400 volunteers throughout the country, and the latest analysis correlated the data from 2009 to last year.
The population of Taiwan rosefinch, an endemic species under conservation dropped by 45 percent, institute assistant research fellow Fan Meng-wen (范孟雯) said.
Photo courtesy of Liao Mei-feng
Climate change has likely led to the loss of high-altitude habitats where Taiwan rosefinches dwell, she said.
Styan’s bulbul — another of the country’s endemic species — experienced a 2 percent population loss, Fan said, adding that since Styan’s bulbuls inhabit cities and suburbs, human activity likely contributed to the species’ decline.
In addition, urban development along the east coast, where most Styan’s bulbuls live, has resulted in cross-breeding with light-vented bulbuls from the country’s west, Fan said.
The life-release of light-vented bulbuls in the east, part of a religious practice, has exacerbated the loss of distinctiveness by cross-breeding, she said.
Several species that dwell on farmland and in underbrush declined precipitously, including 83 percent of barred button quails, 73 percent of Himalayan prinias and 74 percent of vinous-throated parrotbills, Fan said.
Urban development, predation by cats and dogs, and pollution of the environment by agricultural herbicides and pesticides are possible causes for the population losses, she said.
Some invasive species have bloomed, including the chestnut-tailed starling and the white-rumped shama, whose populations have grown by 7,618 percent and 1,573 percent respectively, Fan said.
Competition from these invasive species is expected to ratchet up the pressure on endemic birds in the struggle for survival, she said.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has since last year curbed human activity and boosted wildlife, Zoology Division head Chang Shih-wei (張仕緯) said these effects are only temporary.
Without significant change to the overall environment, the trend for wild birds should not alter course in any significant way, he said.
“Birds are the canaries in our coal mine,” Chang said. “Studies like this tell us what dangers could be lurking in our ecosystem. Human activity can yield short-term economic benefits, but also have negative long-term effects.”
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