• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

HKU biologist reveals important role cities play in conservation of threatened species

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 5, 2017
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: Peter and Michelle Wong

The exhaustive international trade of wildlife has pushed many species to the brink of extinction. Coincidentally, many of the same species have been introduced to urban centres or wilderness areas outside their natural ranges. In a recent study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, authors from Hong Kong and Australia find that these introduced populations may provide hope for these threatened species.

"Across the planet, poachers have reached into the last remote habitats to harvest wildlife populations used for clothing, eaten, or kept as pets in faraway cities," said Dr. Luke Gibson from the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Hong Kong, who led the study.

"In some cases, the traded organisms have escaped and are now thriving in their introduced habitats," he added.

In total, the authors identified 49 globally threatened species – those listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered – which have established introduced populations outside their native distribution. These include amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, as well as insects and plants, with introduced populations found on all continents except Antarctica.

One example is the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Critically Endangered due to capture for the pet trade. Ironically, many of these pet birds were accidentally or deliberately released in their new environments. Currently, about 200 Yellow-crested Cockatoos – an estimated 10% of the bird's global population – are found on Hong Kong Island, mostly between Pokfulam and Happy Valley.

"This is a key example of how Hong Kong – a heavily urbanised city-state – can play a role in the conservation of globally threatened species," said co-author Ding Li Yong, from the Australian National University.

Reintroduction of this species to its native range in Indonesia and East Timor could help to buffer populations there, which are rapidly declining due to poaching.

Alternatively, the harvest of the introduced cockatoos in Hong Kong could offset demand from its native range. Both approaches could also eliminate threats the introduced population might pose to native species in its introduced environment, such as monopolising nesting sites and triggering population declines of local birds.

Combined, augmenting declining populations in their native ranges and eliminating the threats to native ecosystems could "save two birds with one stone," as Gibson puts it. "This creative tactic could be essential to save species imperilled by wildlife trade as well as eliminate threats the same species pose in their adopted territories."

###

The article "Saving two birds with one stone: Solving the quandary of introduced, threatened species" published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1449/abstract.

Media enquiries:

Research Assistant Professor of the School of Biological Sciences Dr Luke Gibson (Tel: +852-2299-0674; email: [email protected])

Media Contact

Dr Luke Gibson
[email protected]
852-229-90674

http://www.hku.hk/

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Advancing Ophthalmology: Electronic Discharge Summaries Unveiled

October 1, 2025
Ancient Squamate Reveals Mosaic Anatomy Insights

Ancient Squamate Reveals Mosaic Anatomy Insights

October 1, 2025

Pancreatic 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT Uptake Insights

October 1, 2025

Laparoscopic vs. Robotic Surgery for Complex Kidney Tumors

October 1, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    63 shares
    Share 25 Tweet 16
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Advancing Ophthalmology: Electronic Discharge Summaries Unveiled

Ancient Squamate Reveals Mosaic Anatomy Insights

Pancreatic 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT Uptake Insights

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.