Signature of a pre-human population decline in the critically endangered Reunion Island endemic forest bird Coracina newtoni.

ABSTRACT: The exceptional biodiversity of Reunion Island is threatened by anthropogenic landscape changes that took place during the 350 years of human colonization. During this period the human population size increased dramatically from 250 to 800,000. The arrival of humans together with the development of agriculture, invasive species such as rats and cats, and deforestation has lead to the extinction of more than half of the original vertebrate species of the island. For the remaining species, significant work is being carried out to identify threats and conservation status, but little genetic work has been carried on some of the most endangered species. In the last decade theoretical studies have shown the ability of neutral genetic markers to infer the demographic history of endangered species

SUBMITTER: Salmona J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3423348 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature