The expansion of humans across the globe has caused an alarming number of extinctions among bird species, and researchers predict many more to come. 

What's happening?

A new study published in the journal Science showed that over the past 130,000 years, at least 600 bird species have gone extinct, according to El País. (And other recent research has estimated that this number, largely coincident with human activity, could be significantly higher.)

As the birds disappeared, so did the critical functions they performed. The new research warns that over the next 200 years, at least 1,300 more avian species could vanish, per El País. 

In the past, history has seen mass extinctions caused by catastrophic events such as meteorite impacts. Aside from these events, the extinction of a species was rare. 

The natural rate of bird extinction was estimated to be no more than 0.1 per million species each year. Once humans began spreading across the world, that number tripled, according to the news report.

Of an estimated 610 bird extinctions from the past 130,000 years, 562 have been due to anthropogenic causes like habitat destruction, hunting, and invasive species introduction, per El País and the Science paper.

The new study showed that, since the year 1500, extinctions have multiplied by 28. Other studies, however, indicated extinctions have multiplied by a much higher number: 100.

On the impact of humans, per El País, "these data have led many scientists to argue that we are facing the sixth mass extinction — the first caused by a single species."

Why is bird extinction important?

Every species of bird performs key roles in nature. Birds are pollinators, spreading seeds for plant life, including crops that make up part of our food supply.

The disappearance of the iconic dodo bird had an effect on the island of Mauritius, which now has a large number of at-risk tree species, as the news report detailed.

Birds are also critical for keeping insect populations under control and removing dead animal tissue. 

In areas like South Asia, the reduction in bird populations has led to an increase in animal carcasses rotting in nature, contributing to an uptick in the spread of disease, including human-to-human rabies, as El País reported.

Ferran Sayol, a co-author of the Science study and researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, said in the news report: "Each [species lost] could have an important role, and we are trying to quantify what consequences that number of species has for the ecosystem."

What's being done about animal extinction?

Many cases of conservation offer hope for the future of wildlife. A resurgence of marsh harriers and bitterns in the Welsh marshlands is proof that nature conservation is worth the effort. 

New laws and policies to protect animals are going a long way to preserve wildlife and the critical roles they play. Community involvement is another way we can each do our part to protect animals and the future of our planet.

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