Wildlife trade targets colorful birds and threatens the aesthetic value of nature

Simple item page
dc.citation.issue19
dc.citation.volume32
dc.contributor.authorSenior RA
dc.contributor.authorOliveira BF
dc.contributor.authorDale J
dc.contributor.authorScheffers BR
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-06T00:35:29Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:35:27Z
dc.date.available2022-09-15
dc.date.available2023-12-06T00:35:29Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:35:27Z
dc.date.issued2022-10-10
dc.description.abstractA key component of nature's contribution to people is aesthetic value. Charismatic species rally public support and bolster conservation efforts. However, an insidious aspect to humanity's valuation of nature is that high value also drives wildlife trade, which can spearhead the demise of prized species. Here, we explore the antagonistic roles of aesthetic value in biodiversity conservation by using novel metrics of color to evaluate the aesthetics of the most speciose radiation of birds: passerines (i.e., the perching birds). We identify global color hotspots for passerines and highlight the breadth of color in the global bird trade. The tropics emerge as an epicentre of color, encompassing 91% and 65% of the world's most diverse and most uniquely colored passerine assemblages, respectively. We show that the pet trade, which currently affects 30% of passerines (1,408/5,266), traverses the avian phylogeny and targets clusters of related species that are uniquely colored. We identify an additional 478 species at risk of future trade based on their coloration and phylogenetic relationship to currently traded species-together totaling 1,886 species traded, a 34% increase. By modeling future extinctions based on species' current threat status, we predict localized losses of color diversity and uniqueness in many avian communities, undermining their aesthetic value and muting nature's color palette. Given the distribution of color and the association of unique colors with threat and trade, proactive regulation of the bird trade is crucial to conserving charismatic biodiversity, alongside recognition and celebration of color hotspots.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.format.pagination4299-4305.e4
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36113469
dc.identifier.citationSenior RA, Oliveira BF, Dale J, Scheffers BR. (2022). Wildlife trade targets colorful birds and threatens the aesthetic value of nature.. Curr Biol. 32. 19. (pp. 4299-4305.e4).
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.066
dc.identifier.eissn1879-0445
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0960-9822
dc.identifier.piiS0960-9822(22)01215-5
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70498
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherElsevier Inc
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01215-5
dc.relation.isPartOfCurr Biol
dc.rights(c) 2022 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectPasseriformes
dc.subjectaesthetic
dc.subjectbiogeography
dc.subjectbirds
dc.subjectcolor
dc.subjectcolour
dc.subjectconservation
dc.subjectmacroecology
dc.subjecttrade
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectAnimals, Wild
dc.subjectBiodiversity
dc.subjectConservation of Natural Resources
dc.subjectEsthetics
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectPasseriformes
dc.subjectPhylogeny
dc.titleWildlife trade targets colorful birds and threatens the aesthetic value of nature
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id456987
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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