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Scientists develop new method that can detect biodiversity losses | A team of scientists has developed a new method that measures the impact of human-caused environmental
degradation on environmental biodiversity. The new method, called the Threshold
Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN), has been developed by researchers from Baylor
University, US, along with ecologists from the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County. The new statistical analysis method is more precise than current methods
and has revealed a dramatically lower ecological "tipping point" at which species
are threatened. "This new method addresses what we perceived to be problems with
existing quantitative approaches for detecting 'thresholds' in the response of
organisms to pollutants," said Dr. Ryan King, associate professor of biology at
Baylor, who, along with Dr. Matthew Baker, assistant professor of geography and
environmental systems at UMBC, developed the method. "Many types of organisms
will suddenly decline or disappear once a threshold level of pollution is reached.
We were particularly dissatisfied with the lack of sensitivity of existing methods
and some of the assumptions required by those methods," he said. "This method
has proven to be much more sensitive while also being very precise in its estimation
of thresholds," he added. Environmental scientists are increasingly relying on
statistical methods for determining thresholds, or "tipping points," when ecological
systems are damaged by changes to the environment. Accurately measuring these
tipping points is important for protecting threatened species and better understanding
how ecosystems respond to major changes such as global warming, coal mine leaching,
agricultural pollutants or water-runoff from highly developed areas. The researchers
said a decade-old analysis widely cited by environmental professionals and policymakers
suggests that it takes up to 15 percent of solid surfaces like roads or parking
lots, or 20 to 30 percent developed land in a given area before local water systems
no longer sustain normal aquatic life. King and Baker's new method demonstrates
that aquatic life actually shows significant loss of biodiversity with only 1
to 3 percent developed land in a watershed. "This really surprised us, but after
carefully examining the data and testing the method using simulations, it became
apparent that these declines were real," King said. |
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