Protection of the birds

The conservation of the birds is a field of the Biologie of the conservation which treats species of Oiseau X threatened. The human activities always had a significant effect on many species of birds. More than one hundreds of species disappeared during the historical time. The most dramatic extinctions occurred in the Pacific Ocean after the men colonized the islands of Mélanésie, Polynésie and of Micronesia between 750 and 1800 species died out. According to the institute Worldwatch, much of populations of birds currently decline in the world, 1.200 species being threatened of extinction in the century to come. The evoked main reason is the destruction of the habitat The other threats include excessive hunting, accidental mortality due to collisions with planes, the accidental catch in Palangre S, pollution, competition and the predation by invasive species, the oil slicks, the use of Pesticide S and the Climate change.

The governments, and of many charity associations, work with the protection of the birds in various ways, like the law, the protection and the restoration of the sites, and the breeding of captive populations from the point of view of their reintroduction.

The efforts carried out by the various partners allowed in 2004, that sixteen species of birds which would have disappeared without conservative measures, are always existing.

The threats which weigh on the birds

Decline of the avian populations

The population of good number of species of birds declines. This is particularly true for the Passereau X.

Destruction of the habitat

The greatest threat is that of the destruction or the fragmentation of the habitat Transformations of the forests, arable land plains and other ecosystems, the development of the mines and the urban areas, the draining of the Marsh and wetlands, and the Forestry development reduces the natural habitat of many species. Moreover, the zones which remain are often too small to provide for the needs for the populations which there live and are prone to local extinctions, the islands being particularly sensitive. The Meeting or Hawaii are examples of important extinctions of birds. The disappearance of the wet tropical forests is the most urgent problem owing to the fact that these forests hold the greatest number of species likely to disappear in the short run. The destruction of the habitats already caused many extinctions like those of the Paruline de Bachman or a subspecies of Florida of the maritime Bruant, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens .

Introduced foreign species

Historically, the threat consisted the introduced species probably caused the most extinctions of birds, in particular in the islands. Ninety percent of the extinctions occurred in the islands, and the majority of the prehistoric men who caused extinctions were also islanders. Many species developed on the islands in the absence of any predator and lost many of their behaviors of defense with respect to them. While moving around the world, the human ones took along with them much of exogenic animals which competed with or destroyed the species autochtones. Some of these new animals proved to be the predatory ones like the Rat S, the cats harets and the Cochon S, others of the competitors such as certain species of birds. Some of these competitors modified the biotopes as the Herbivore S which degrade the sites of nesting. The diseases also played a part. The introduction of the avian malaria is undoubtedly one of the first causes of extinctions to Hawaii. The Dodo is the most famous example of a species which was probably led to the extinction by the introduction of new species (although the human predation also played a part). One can quote other birds which were the victims like the Xénique de Stephen, the Po-O-uli masked and the subspecies of the obscure Rousserolle of Laysan. Many species currently threatened of extinction, such as the ashy Glaucope, the Miro of Chatham, the Crow of Mariannes and the Duck of Hawaii, also vulnerable to predatory are introduced.

Drive out and exploitation

The men exploited the birds for a very long time, which already caused extinctions. Surchasse already occurred towards “naive” species (not accustomed to the man) such as the Moa of New Zealand.

Demolition by certain hunters of Raptor S, particularly useful for the farmers because especially driving out species harmful with the cultures but perceived like an unfair competition for the lagoramorphes, strongly reduced certain populations. The fawn-coloured vultures in the south of France, shown without formal evidences to kill the sheep and cows, were exterminated, before being reintroduced there.

In other cases, it is the hunting led to an industrial level which caused the extinction. The migrating Pigeon was formerly the species most among those currently alive (and perhaps of all times), intensive hunting reduced this species which counted billion individuals, to the row of extinct species. The pressure of hunting can be due to the need for food, the sport, the collection of the feathers, or even to the will of the scientists to collect specimens for the museums. The collection of specimens of Grand penguin for museums caused the total disappearance of this already rare species.

Between: 1600000 and: 3200000 wild birds are captured in the Années 1990 of which nearly 25% are Psittacidae at the point to endanger certain species. Between 1986 and 1988, two million these birds was legally imported only with the the United States. Certain specimens also passed in smuggling, the rare species sold at high prices.

Hybridization

Other threats

The birds face many of other threats. The Pollution led to a severe decline of certain species. The Pesticide S (as DDT) were responsible for a harmful thinning of the egg shells at the birds nicheurs, in particular the marine birds and the Rapace S located at the ends of the food chains. The marine birds are also vulnerable to the plates of Hydrocarbure due to the oil slicks which destroy the impermeability of their Plumage resulting in their death by drowning or Hypothermie. The luminous Pollution can also cause harmful effects on certain species, in particular the marine birds night like the Pétrel S.

The marine birds face another threat, that of accidental fishing. They are caught in the drifting nets or cling to the trawl lines. It is estimated that: 100000 Albatros are thus captured each year and drown on the lines intended for tunas. The migratory birds are threatened by the presence of high buildings; a million birds approximately would be killed in this manner each year with the the United States. In the same register, a controversy takes place in Europe in connection with the wind mills, but this assertion is contradicted by certain associations of protection of the birds.

Techniques of conservation

The scientists and professionals of the conservation developed many techniques of protection. Those had various successes.

Multiplication in captivity

The multiplication in captivity (conservation ex-situ ) was employed in many examples of safeguard of the endangered species. The main aim is to establish a viable population in the zoos or the centers of reproduction, in order to prepare a future reintroduction in the natural environment. The populations in captivity are also an insurance of perenniality for the wild species in process of extinction or as last recourse if the conservation in the natural environment is impossible. The multiplication in captivity made it possible to save a certain number of species of the extinction or to reintroduce species disappeared in a precise place, one can quote for example that of the Condor of California whose species declined until less than thirty individuals or that of the reintroduction of the fawn-coloured Vautour in the Causses. With an aim of saving the Condor of California, the decision was made to capture all the individuals. Starting from these 22 individuals, a program of reproduction allowed to go up the population with 273 in 2005. An example even more impressive is that of the Crécerelle of Maurice, who passed from only four individuals in 1974 to 800 in 2006. Problems of genetic diversity arise however.

Reintroduction and displacements (delocalizations)

The reintroduction of captive populations at ends of multiplication can take place in order to preserve the level of the wild populations of the species in danger. These reintroductions can aim at the creation of new populations or the reintroduction of extinct species in the wild medium. The reintroductions made it possible to make pass the wild populations of the Bernache tit (barnacle of Hawaii) of 30 birds to more than 500. The Crécerelle of Maurice was reintroduced successfully following a programme of multiplication in captivity.

Completely extinct species in the wild world were reintroduced, like the green peacock ( Pavo muticus ) of Tennasirim in Malaysia. However, in certain cases, an inadequate subspecies was reintroduced and there exists always a controversy to know which was the form used: Malaysian, Javanese or of Tennasirim. It is possible that the birds chosen for the last reintroductions do not correspond to the species of origin. Articles in the local press had indeed claimed wrongfully that the extinct Malaysian form was genetically identical to the wild form living in Java, whereas the two subspecies are in fact genetically different. The images of the birds taken close to the zoo of Melaka do not correspond to any of these two forms, instead of that the birds seem identical to species more matt, the green Peacock token entry Spicifer . In spite of that, the images were identified like that of a species in danger, even extinct known under the name of green peacock of Tennasirim, which is cousin of the Spicifer . Tests DNA, carried out in comparison with skins preserved in the museums, however showed that the reintroduced birds corresponded to birds which lived there, so that either the Spicifer /Tennasirim was also found in Malaysia, or the two forms were employed at the time of the reintroduction.

The delocalizations aim at introducing populations of species threatened into suitable habitats which they do not populate yet. There are several reasons to do it: the multiplication of the populations offers a guarantee in the event of disaster, and, in much of case the original populations are threatened in their usual habitat. A delocalization celebrates was that of the Kakapo of New Zealand. These large parrots unable to fly could not face the predatory introduced into their last habitat on the island Stewart. They were moved towards moreover small islands with broad which had been emptied the predatory ones. From there, a program of rectification managed to maintain and with final to increase their number.

Protection of the habitat

See also: List of the ornithological parks in the world

The destruction of the habitat is the most serious threat for the majority of the species of birds. The organizations of conservation and the government organizations work with the protection of the natural zones. This passes by the purchase of particularly important zones of conservation, their their declaration or retention like National park or Protected area. This includes/understands also the establishment of a Législation preventing the landowners from undertaking land practices prejudicial, or by paying them so that they do not undertake any. The objectives of protection of the habitats (for the birds and other animals and plants threatened) often enter in conflict with other interests, such as those of the landowners and the companies, which see these restrictions like prejudicial on their activities. The plans of protection of a crucial habitat for the mottled Chouette of North America require the protection of great sectors of primary Forêt in the west of the United States. These plans were disputed by the forest companies asserting that would cause Chômage and profits in fall.

History of protection

The awakening that the birds should be protected is an old phenomenon since in 676 Cuthbert de Lindisfarne enacts what could be well the first law of protection of those. Whereas many species are disappeared at the 19th century like the Grand penguin or the Cormoran with glasses, the Canard of Labrador disappeared as of 1875, it is at the end of the century that the first laws appeared on the protection of the birds and the regulation of hunting. For example the Seabirds British Protection Act in 1869 and the Belgian law of 1882. The first laws specific to the birds date, they, of the Lacey Act of 1900 and Weeks-McLean Law of 1913 to the the United States. In parallel the first protections of the habitats are taken there as the creation of the National Bird Preserve Florida in 1903. These measurements were followed of agreement multinational like the Loi on convention concerning the migratory birds of 1917 between the the United States, Canada and Great Britain. This one protects more than 800 species from migratory birds. Many associations of protection of fauna and more particularly of the birds are create. Other conventions are taken later between the latter, and the Russia, the Mexico, the Japan.

For certain species now protected the figures from demolition can be vertiginous, in Iceland 110.000 guillemots and penguins were collected, 250.000 in 1923 and 50.000 the following year. In 1985, the initiative ZICO is launched. In 1988 the United States, Canada and Mexico set up a common management system for ducks and geese very effective. Moreover the United States revised their list of birds to be protected. The device installation makes it possible to modulate the taking away, species by species, for each great migration path. Such a device, being based on an effective network of observation and scientific analysis, would allow an approach much more realistic of the necessary conciliation of hunting and conservation of the species that of the European Union. In 1999, the Accord on the conservation of the migrating water birds of Africa-Eurasia is signed by 14 country. Since the beginning of the Years 2000, transnational reflections take place for the protection of the whole of migrating within a concept called ecological Réseau.

In 2000, in France, a law considered to be scandalous by associations of protection of the birds, is adopted. It widens, with the contempt of the European agreements, the dates of openings of hunting for the migratory birds i.e. on nearly 7,5 months against 5 on average in Europe. Moreover, on the 50 driven out migrating species, 24 are threatened species, that is to say well more than in any other European country.

LPO is representing it for the France with the international Birdlife which gathers partners of all the countries.

See too

Protected space, red List, QUOTE, Wetlands
National park, Natural reserve
luminous Pollution, Plan light
ecological Fragmentation, Naturalité
Directive birds
Liste of the species of birds disappeared (For the birds disappeared after 1500), to also see concerning the birds of the end of quaternary the (disappeared with prehistory and the beginning of historical times, often following the human activities with (Paléolithique superior).
Nesting box, Fifteenth target HQE
important Zone for the conservation of the birds

Random links:

Buster Bailey | 25e division of infantry (France) | Grand Prix of summer of Ski jump 1997