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posted by martyb on Monday September 23 2019, @12:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the better-go-find-me-some-more-worms dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Disappearance of meadows and prairies, expansion of farmlands, use of pesticide blamed for 29 percent drop since 1970.

The number of birds in the United States and Canada has dropped by an astonishing 29 percent, or almost three billion, since 1970, scientists said on Thursday, saying their findings signalled a widespread ecological crisis.

Grassland birds were the most affected, because of the disappearance of meadows and prairies and the extension of farmlands, as well as the growing use of pesticides that kill insects that affects the entire food chain.

"Birds are in crisis," Peter Marra, director of the Georgetown Environment Initiative at Georgetown University and a co-author of the study published in the journal Science, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Forest birds and species that occur in a wider variety of habitats - known as habitat generalists - are also disappearing.

"We see the same thing happening the world over, the intensification of agriculture and land use changes are placing pressure on these bird populations," Ken Rosenberg, an ornithologist at Cornell University and principal co-author of the paper in Science told AFP news agency.

"Now, we see fields of corn and other crops right up to the horizon, everything is sanitised and mechanised, there's no room left for birds, fauna and nature."

More than 90 percent of the losses are from just 12 species including sparrows, warblers, blackbirds, and finches.

The figures mirror declines seen elsewhere, notably France, where the National Observatory of Biodiversity estimates there was a 30 percent decline in grassland birds between 1989 and 2017.


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  • (Score: 2) by Hartree on Monday September 23 2019, @05:50PM

    by Hartree (195) on Monday September 23 2019, @05:50PM (#897702)

    Yeah, there have been a number of ACs that are... well.. less than exemplary. My apologies for implying it was you.

    I'm very open about having cancer. My hope is that by doing that more people will get regular check ups and catch it and other medical conditions early while it's less of a problem. I've lost a number of friends to things that could have been treated if they were found earlier.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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