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Extinction of Species on an Island is Irreversible within the Animal World

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Scientists study the ecosystem on the small island of Mauritius. They show that extinct species cannot be replaced. (iStockphoto)

Nationalgeographic.co.id—New studies from the University of Copenhagen have shown that extinct species on an island cannot be replaced. They studied the ecosystem on the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean for just that.

Lush plants, big trees and lots of different, beautiful and colorful exotic animals. This is probably what most people imagine about the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

But maybe that’s not the case. As elsewhere in the world, the island and its natural environment are at risk of mass extinction, and in just a decade or two, the lush and diverse realm of animals may have dwindled to very few.

At least if the extinction of many of the island’s plants and animals continues. They are part of a very sensitive ecosystem where animals help plants spread their seeds.






However, if an animal disappears or is replaced by an entirely new species, the seed will not spread as well as before. And that’s a big deal, according to a new study.

The results of their research have been described in Nature Communications by title “Novel plant–frugivore network on Mauritius is unlikely to compensate for the extinction of seed dispersers.”








“Many plants, especially on tropical islands like Mauritius, rely on animals to help spread their seeds,” said Julia Heinen, first author and postdoc in the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

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The Dodo bird is one of the extinct species in Mauritius. (Shutterstock)

If the animals that could help spread the seeds go extinct, the plants get into trouble because the animals humans brought to the island destroy the seeds. on the contrary. This increases the risk that any plants still on the island will die.

If the plant dies, the fruit growing on it will also disappear from the island. And this in turn creates new problems for the small ecosystem of the island itself, because the fruit-eating animal species will also be problematic.

That means, when a species becomes extinct it will cause another chain of extinctions, causing other species to become problematic.

For example, the dodo bird is the most famous extinct bird of Mauritius. They were last seen on the island in the 1600s and were nowhere else to be found.

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