One of the most controversial questions in evolutionary science is, How did the Amazon come to have so many species of living things? A new bird-focused study examines how the movement of rivers in the Amazon has affected the biodiversity of the area. A team of researchers, led by the American Museum of Natural History, found that as smaller river systems change over time, they encourage the emergence of new species.
The discovery also revealed that previously unknown species of birds in the Amazon were found only in small areas near these mighty river systems, which put them at greater risk of extinction. This research is detailed today in the journal Science Advances.
Seven major rivers
The tropical rain forests of the Amazon River have a vast diversity of harbors than any other surrounding land. It is also the world’s most important biome, which contains about 18 percent of the world’s vegetation and carries more freshwater than the next seven major rivers combined. Researchers have long wondered how the Amazon’s rich diversity of species evolved and accumulated.
Amazon
“Early evolutionists, such as Alfred Russel Wallace, observed that many species of monkeys and birds vary across the Amazon River basin, and that birdwatchers now know that rivers are linked – in some way, to the origin of many species of birds,” says lead author Lukas. Musher, a postdoctoral researcher at Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences and Ph.D of recent comparative biology graduated from the American Museum of Natural History by Richard Gilder Graduate School. “Furthermore, the growing body of evidence for geography has suggested that these rivers are very strong, circling the South American area over a short period of time, in succession for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.”
Investigate the flow of rivers
To find out how the flow of rivers in this area has influenced the extinction of bird species in the Amazon, researchers have sequenced the genes of six species of birds in the Amazon. ” Although birds can fly, our research confirmed that existing rivers cross the South Amazon. rainforests, even relatively small, are extremely effective in classifying the six species, leading to genetic variation and ultimately speciation, “said the study’s lead author Joel Cracraft, Lamont Curator and chief curator in the Museum of Environmental Affairs.
However, because these rivers circulate around the area at different time intervals, their movements can have a wide range of effects on a variety of birds: when river regeneration occurs rapidly, many birds on each side can mate before they have time to separate; when river rotation occurs slowly, animal species have a long period of separation from each other; and when rivers change at moderate rates, the number of birds splits up and reunites and recurs as the river flows.
Different species of birds
Scientists have also identified species of birds that should be classified as species that have been classified as unique. ” Although we know that the biodiversity of the Amazon is unmatched by any other ecosystem, we have shown that the richness of the species may seem insignificant. in groups that are as well trained as birds, ”said Musher. “Our findings are consistent with those of other studies that have reported positive patterns of diversity in the southern Amazon – a region threatened by rapid and continuous deforestation – yet this diversity is undetectable. The Amazon may be threatened with extinction in the near future”.
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