A model extinction?
Life is random, according to scientists studying ecology, anyway. But it's possible that scientists haven't been thinking randomly enough, and endangered wildlife may disappear more quickly than expected.
New study shows endangered species may be even more at risk than originally thought.
Leading ecologists reported in Nature that the present models for assessing the threat of extinction are flawed and underestimate the speed at which plant and animals may disappear. The old models include all sorts of randomness, like the chance of a rare accident or a natural disaster that may kill animals, but lack some other important risk factors. When the scientists included in their models other factors--like the proportion of males to females and variation in the number of offspring--they found there was the potential for larger swings in populations than earlier thought and that some species may become extinct 100 times more quickly than originally thought.
Scary stuff. This makes me want to work all that much harder for the species on a knife's edge right here in Washington. For example, grizzly bears live in less than 2% of their former range in the lower 48, and there are estimated to be fewer than 20 bears in the Cascades. And mountain caribou are one of the most endangered large mammals in North America, with a tiny population in Washington's Selkirks and less than 1900 in BC.
And don't forget, that while these adjusted models do show larger potential downswings in threatened populations than expected, this might mean we have the opportunity right now to affect a larger than expected upswing as well!
You can help locally by speaking up for wilderness and wildlife habitat in the Columbia Highlands and watch a video and take action for bears.
