The CSIRO has painted a positive picture for the future of Australian desert birds in a new book that explores the evolutionary talents of our key bird species.
In ‘Boom and Bust: Bird stories for a dry country’ the organisation demonstrates how key bird species have been shaped by evolutionary and environmental changes for centuries.
It sheds light on how desert birds survive climatic, economic and ecological change and provides some positive news for the future as climate extremes worsen.
Co-author and editor, Leo Joseph, director of the Australian Wildlife Collection at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, said the evolutionary footprint in DNA sequences reveals how species evolve through boom and bust cycles.
‘Masked and White-browed Woodswallows appear to have undergone major population expansions in their history, probably driven by the effects of glaciation on the Australian environment,’ Dr Joseph said.
‘Boom cycles provide a bigger pool of individuals from which to select the next generation and when the bust sets in many of those individuals and their genes are eliminated through natural selection.’
The book includes 10 stories and case studies from various experts to help readers understand global change.
‘They illustrate how natural systems play out under human-induced change and how humans have responded,’ co-author Dr Libby Robin said.
‘Australia has among the world’s most variable climate and greatest rainfall uncertainty. Many birds like the pelican have built up resilience to cycles of boom and bust and live for long periods on very little, waiting for resources to arrive and seizing opportunities to breed.’
Steve Morton, animal ecologist and CSIRO group executive of manufacturing, materials and minerals, said the Zebra Finch was a ‘little Aussie battler’ able to thrive in Australia’s harshest conditions.
The book is available through CSIRO Publishing at http://www.publish.csiro.au
CSIRO Media Release
In ‘Boom and Bust: Bird stories for a dry country’ the organisation demonstrates how key bird species have been shaped by evolutionary and environmental changes for centuries.
It sheds light on how desert birds survive climatic, economic and ecological change and provides some positive news for the future as climate extremes worsen.
Co-author and editor, Leo Joseph, director of the Australian Wildlife Collection at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, said the evolutionary footprint in DNA sequences reveals how species evolve through boom and bust cycles.
‘Masked and White-browed Woodswallows appear to have undergone major population expansions in their history, probably driven by the effects of glaciation on the Australian environment,’ Dr Joseph said.
‘Boom cycles provide a bigger pool of individuals from which to select the next generation and when the bust sets in many of those individuals and their genes are eliminated through natural selection.’
The book includes 10 stories and case studies from various experts to help readers understand global change.
‘They illustrate how natural systems play out under human-induced change and how humans have responded,’ co-author Dr Libby Robin said.
‘Australia has among the world’s most variable climate and greatest rainfall uncertainty. Many birds like the pelican have built up resilience to cycles of boom and bust and live for long periods on very little, waiting for resources to arrive and seizing opportunities to breed.’
Steve Morton, animal ecologist and CSIRO group executive of manufacturing, materials and minerals, said the Zebra Finch was a ‘little Aussie battler’ able to thrive in Australia’s harshest conditions.
The book is available through CSIRO Publishing at http://www.publish.csiro.au
CSIRO Media Release
Comments
Post has no comments.