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Quantifying the abundance of species is essential to ecology, evolution, and conservation. The distribution of species abundances is fundamental to numerous longstanding questions in ecology, yet the empirical pattern at the global scale remains unresolved, with a few species’ abundance well known but most poorly characterized. In large part because of heterogeneous data, few methods exist that can scale up to all species across the globe. Here, we integrate data from a suite of well-studied species with a global dataset of bird occurrences throughout the world—for 9,700 species (∼92% of all extant species)—and use missing data theory to estimate species-specific abundances with associated uncertainty. We find strong evidence that the distribution of species abundances is log left skewed: there are many rare species and comparatively few common species. By aggregating the species-level estimates, we find that there are ∼50 billion individual birds in the world at present. The global-scale abundance estimates that we provide will allow for a line of inquiry into the structure of abundance across biogeographic realms and feeding guilds as well as the consequences of life history (e.g., body size, range size) on population dynamics. Importantly, our method is repeatable and scalable: as data quantity and quality increase, our accuracy in tracking temporal changes in global biodiversity will increase. Moreover, we provide the methodological blueprint for quantifying species-specific abundance, along with uncertainty, for any organism in the world.

One of the primary anthropogenic activities driving the shrinking of tropical forests is urban development, which often results in the formation of fragmented forest areas surrounded by diverse human-modified landscapes. Isolation and fragmentation of natural habitats have been linked to a variety of detrimental effects on ecosystems and biodiversity. Currently, there is limited information on how urban forest fragmentation affects avian communities in tropical regions. Our study investigated the impacts of habitat fragmentation on bird community assemblages in four forest patches and in one continuous forest within rapidly developing Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Using point count sampling method, we recorded 4,144 bird encounters spanning 196 resident and migratory species, nearly 60% of which are experiencing global population decline. Our findings show that continuous forests can support greater avian diversity than fragmented forests. We also found that bird community assemblages differed significantly amongst forest types, with continuous forest having the most distinct bird community and highest species evenness. Our study further identified the value of retaining urban forests as habitats and biological corridors for resident birds and as stopover sites for migratory birds, including rare, threatened, or endangered species (RTE). Maintaining existing urban forest areas is therefore crucial for the conservation of bird species, both at a local and global level. This can be further enhanced by incorporating these forests into Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) networks in the region.

\"The story of one woman's remarkable work with a trio of charismatic, endangered bird species-and her discoveries about the devastating threats that imperil them. In Feather Trails, wildlife biologist and birder Sophie A. H. Osborn reveals how the harmful environmental choices we've made-including pesticide use, the introduction of invasive species, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction-have decimated Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors. In the Rocky Mountains, the cloud forests of Hawai'i, and the Grand Canyon, Sophie and her colleagues work day-to-day to try to reintroduce these birds to the wild, even when it seems that the odds are steeply stacked against their survival. With humor and suspense, Feather Trails introduces us to the fascinating behaviors and unique personalities of Sophie's avian charges and shows that what endangers them ultimately threatens all life on our planet. More than a deeply researched environmental investigation, Feather Trails is also a personal journey and human story, in which Sophie overcomes her own obstacles-among them heat exhaustion, poachers, rattlesnakes, and chauvinism. Ultimately, Feather Trails is an inspiring, poignant narrative about endangered birds and how our choices can help to ensure a future not only for the rarest species, but for us too\"-- Provided by publisher.

The trade in wild animals involves one-third of the world's bird species and thousands of other vertebrate species. Although a few species are imperiled as a result of the wildlife trade, the lack of field studies makes it difficult to gauge how serious a threat it is to biodiversity. We used data on changes in bird abundances across space and time and information from trapper interviews to evaluate the effects of trapping wild birds for the pet trade in Sumatra, Indonesia. To analyze changes in bird abundance over time, we used data gathered over 14 years of repeated bird surveys in a 900-ha forest in southern Sumatra. In northern Sumatra, we surveyed birds along a gradient of trapping accessibility, from the edge of roads to 5 km into the forest interior. We interviewed 49 bird trappers in northern Sumatra to learn which species they targeted and how far they went into the forest to trap. We used prices from Sumatran bird markets as a proxy for demand and, therefore, trapping pressure. Market price was a significant predictor of species declines over time in southern Sumatra (e.g., given a market price increase of approximately $50, the log change in abundance per year decreased by 0.06 on average). This result indicates a link between the market-based pet trade and community-wide species declines. In northern Sumatra, price and change in abundance were not related to remoteness (distance from the nearest road). However, based on our field surveys, high-value species were rare or absent across this region. The median maximum distance trappers went into the forest each day was 5.0 km. This suggests that trapping has depleted bird populations across our remoteness gradient. We found that less than half of Sumatra's remaining forests are > 5 km from a major road. Our results suggest that trapping for the pet trade threatens birds in Sumatra. Given the popularity of pet birds across Southeast Asia, additional studies are urgently needed to determine the extent and magnitude of the threat posed by the pet trade. El mercado de animales silvestres involucra a un tercio de las especies de aves del mundo y a miles de otras especies de vertebrados. Aunque algunas especies se encuentran en peligro como resultado del mercado de vida silvestre, la falta de estudios de campo complica la estimación de cuán seria es esta amenaza para la biodiversidad. Utilizamos datos sobre los cambios en la abundancia de aves a través del espacio y el tiempo y la información de entrevistas de trampeadores para evaluar los efectos del trampeo de aves silvestres para el mercado de mascotas en Sumatra, Indonesia. Para analizar los cambios en la abundancia de aves a lo largo del tiempo utilizamos los datos recolectados durante 14 años de censos repetidos de aves en un bosque de 900-ha en el sur de Sumatra. En el norte de Sumatra, censamos aves a lo largo de un gradiente de accesibilidad para el trampeo, desde las orillas de las carreteras hasta 5 km dentro del interior del bosque. Entrevistamos a 49 trampeadores de aves en el norte de Sumatra para aprender cuáles especies son sus objetivos y cuan lejos se adentraron en el bosque para atraparlas. Utilizamos los precios de los mercados de aves de Sumatra como sustitutos para la demanda y, por lo tanto, de la presión de trampeo. El precio del mercado fue un pronosticador significativo de la declinación de las especies a lo largo del tiempo en el sur de Sumatra (p. ej.: dado un incremento en el precio del mercado de aproximadamente $50, el cambio en el registro de abundancia por año disminuyó en un promedio de 0.06). Este resultado indica una conexión entre el mercado de mascotas basado en la venta y las declinaciones de especies a nivel de la comunidad. En el norte de Sumatra, el precio y el cambio en la abundancia no estuvieron relacionados con la distancia desde la carretera más cercana. Sin embargo, con base en nuestros censos en el campo, las especies de alto valor fueron raras o estuvieron ausentes en esta región. La distancia máxima media que los trampeadores se adentraron en el bosque cada día fue de 0.5 km. Esto sugiere que el trampeo ha mermado a las poblaciones de aves a través de nuestro gradiente de la distancia a la carretera más cercana. Encontramos que menos de la mitad de los bosques que permanecen en Sumatra están a > 5 km de una carretera principal. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el trampeo para el mercado de mascotas amenaza a las aves en Sumatra. Dada la popularidad de las aves mascotas en el sureste asiático, se necesitan urgentemente estudios adicionales para determinar la extensión y la magnitud de la amenaza generada por el mercado de mascotas.

\"A saltmarsh sparrow is looking for a new home. She must find a place with the right plants and must avoid running into windows and loose pets on the beach. Will the sparrow survive and find a new home? This narrative nonfiction title includes a range map, notes on how to help songbirds, further resources, and a glossary\"-- Provided by publisher.

Species extinctions have defined the global biodiversity crisis, but extinction begins with loss in abundance of individuals that can result in compositional and functional changes of ecosystems. Using multiple and independent monitoring networks, we report population losses across much of the North American avifauna over 48 years, including once-common species and from most biomes. Integration of range-wide population trajectories and size estimates indicates a net loss approaching 3 billion birds, or 29% of 1970 abundance. A continent-wide weather radar network also reveals a similarly steep decline in biomass passage of migrating birds over a recent 10-year period. This loss of bird abundance signals an urgent need to address threats to avert future avifaunal collapse and associated loss of ecosystem integrity, function, and services.

Many species migrate long distances annually between their breeding and wintering areas1. Although global change affects both ranges, impact assessments have generally focused on breeding ranges and ignored how environmental changes influence migrants across geographical regions and the annual cycle2,3. Using range maps and species distribution models, we quantified the risk of summer and winter range loss and migration distance increase from future climate and land cover changes on long-distance migratory birds of the Holarctic (n = 715). Risk estimates are largely independent of each other and magnitudes vary geographically. If seasonal range losses and increased migration distances are not considered, we strongly underestimate the number of threatened species by 18–49% and the overall magnitude of risk for 17–50% species. Many of the analysed species that face multiple global change risks are not listed by International Union for Conservation of Nature as threatened or near threatened. To neglect seasonal migration in impact assessments could thus seriously misguide species’ conservation.