Guest guest Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 -------------- [Fwd: IISc Research On Species Extinction] " Sujatha Karanth " <diyabangalore Fri, August 11, 2006 3:12 pm -------- Thanks, that's the guy who's experimenting on the monkeys. They'll do anything to get published these 'educated' abusers. It's a load of nonsense to get funding ... unless someone else got more out of it ... Pls do explain if then. Thanks, Nilesh. Good for you to pick these up! TAke care, Sujatha On 8/10/06, nilesh <nilesh wrote: > > > http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2 & item_no=101830 & version\ =1 & template_id=40 & parent_id=22 > Scientists throw new light on extinction > Published: Thursday, 10 August, 2006, 12:01 PM Doha Time > > *Bhubaneswar:* A single animal species is likely to become extinct from > different locations on Earth around the same time if a common external > factor, or " forcing " , is applied, say two Indian researchers. > > In a joint study, Professor Govindan Rangarajan of the Indian Institute of > Science, Bangalore, and Professor R E Amritkar, Physical Research > Laboratory, Ahmedabad, say that " synchronisation " of the species precedes > extinction if there is a common external forcing. > > " Such a forcing could be anything from an ice age, global warming or a > volcanic eruption to meteorites hitting the earth, threat from predators > and > even large-scale hunting by humans, " their study states. > > The separated communities of the species synchronise together before > becoming extinct. Animal populations all over the world are likely to > synchronise their numbers before dying out, the researchers say. > > More than 99% of the species that ever existed on the surface of the earth > are now extinct, and their extinction on a global scale has been a puzzle > for scientists worldwide. > > Many are of the opinion that a specie under an external threat like > climate > change, asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions may survive in > some isolated locations - leading to the revival of the species. > > However, the latest research conducted over a year suggests that if a > specie > becomes extinct in one location, it becomes extinct globally in all > locations. Populations of a single animal species will become extinct at > the > same time due to the common external factor, or " forcing " , according to > the > study that has appeared in the June issue of the journal Physical Review > Letters. > > They have based their findings on a theory called Special Spatial > Synchronisation. > > The model, if correct, implies that isolating an endangered specie will > not > necessarily mean it survives - a strategy often proposed by > conservationists > and wildlife groups, it said. > > For example many species, including the giant dinosaurs, have disappeared. > Thus was due to catastrophic events. > > " They became extinct since the climatic conditions became unfavourable, " > Rangarajan told IANS in an e-mail interview. > > There are many species facing extinction like the spider monkey of > Colombia > and the black howler monkey among other species, said Rangarajan. > > " We started with some experimental data showing that a predator can > synchronize prey populations across different locations, " he said. > > " We developed a general model based on this and applied techniques from > non-linear dynamics to study the problem, " said Rangarajan, who did his > MSc > from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani. > > " It is not clear whether human beings face extinction. If there is a > catastrophic event like large asteroids hitting the earth, this can > happen, " > he said. Similarly, global warming can play a role in future extinctions. > – > Indo-Asian News Service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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