Research
Tiny populations are challenging what we know about wildlife recovery
Earth.com · By Andrei Ionescu ·
The Brief
- In 1974, only four Mauritius kestrels were known to survive in the wild.
- The Mauritius kestrel population has since grown to the hundreds, according to the report.
- A team led by Donal Smith at Monash University, with other researchers, studied the recovery.
Why it matters
The recovery challenges the assumption that very small wild populations are almost certainly doomed, which affects how conservation teams judge recovery prospects for endangered species.
Who’s affected
- conservation biologists
- wildlife managers
- #conservation
- #wildlife recovery
- #endangered species
- #population biology
- #birds
In 1974, the Mauritius kestrel was down to just four known birds in the wild. Conservation textbooks practically wrote the obituary. Half a century later, the Mauritius kestrel numbers in the hundreds. A team led by Donal Smith at Monash University , working with researchers from…