Better Conservation

摘要

Nothing pushes a species to extinction like wiping out its habitat. Consider the Hawaiian Islands: They were originally covered in trees, but by the 1950s three-quarters of the islands' natural forests had been destroyed to make way for animal pastures and crops. Many other habitats were overrun by introduced pigs and rats. The effect on Hawaii's indigenous species was devastating: In the last 200 years, 28 species of birds alone were wiped out, including the large Kauai thrush. Once widespread throughout the Hawaiian Islands, this thrush has not been seen since 1989. It is considered extinct by the World Conservation Union. Conservation biologists face an increasingly difficult job of preserving habitats and, with them, global biodiversity. But Hugh Possingham, an ecologist and mathematician at the University of Queensland in Australia, has developed revolutionary software that will make their work easier and more effective.