From pollinating plants to dispersing seeds, birds play a variety of crucial roles that help to keep ecosystems in balance. But when we degrade and fragment their habitats, some species disappear much quicker than others — taking their specific ecosystem functions with them. New research from Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s last havens […]
  • Papua New Guinea is a global hotspot of avian biodiversity, home to spectacular and behaviorally complex bird species that occur nowhere else on the planet.
  • A new study shows that forest fragmentation reduces unique forest-specialist birds, but boosts generalist species like pigeons, sunbirds and bulbuls.
  • Birds suffered greater declines in habitats cut off from the surrounding landscape, compared to degraded habitats that remained connected to nearby intact forests.
  • The shift in the bird community in degraded and isolated habitats undermines ecosystem stability and resilience, as birds that once performed vital pollination, seed dispersal and insect control services are lost.

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