New international research has found 25% of carnivorous species may be at risk of 24 September 2020

relationships with —sometimes providing for animals, or even relying upon animals to digest the prey they catch for them," Dr. Cross said.

"Our research has found around 25 per cent of the world's carnivorous are at increasing risk of extinction. is currently sixth in the world for harboring the most Critically Endangered carnivorous plant species, behind , Indonesia, Philippines, Cuba and Thailand."

Carnivorous plants usually occur in extremely Pitcher Plants. Credit: Dr Adam Cross sensitive habitats, and are often in areas experiencing direct conflict with human activities.

During the team's research, each of the over 850 New international research led by Curtin University known carnivorous plant species was assessed for has found approximately a quarter of carnivorous its exposure to threats such as residential and plant species across the world may be at risk of commercial development; agriculture and extinction due to global climate change, illegal aquaculture activities; production and poaching, and the clearing of land for agriculture, mining; transport development, such as land mining and development. clearing for roads or trains; human exploitation, such as illegal collection; pollution; geological Carnivorous plants are predatory plants which events; climate change; and severe weather. obtain some or most of their nutrients through specialized adaptations that allow them to attract, "Globally speaking, the biggest threats to capture and kill their prey—mainly flies and other carnivorous plants are the result of agricultural small but occasionally even birds and small practices and natural systems modifications, as . Well-known species of carnivorous well as continental scale environmental shifts plants include the Venus fly trap and pitcher plants. caused by climate change," Dr. Cross said.

Lead researcher, restoration ecologist Dr. Adam "In , which harbors more Cross from the School of Molecular and Life carnivorous plant species than any other place on Sciences at Curtin University, said the loss of Earth, the biggest threat remains the clearing of carnivorous plants would not only be devastating to meet human needs, resulting hydrological due to their captivating qualities, but could changes, and of course the warming, drying climate potentially have detrimental effects across trend that affects much of Australia." . Research co-author Dr. Andreas Fleischmann, from "Carnivorous plants are an iconic group of plants, Botanische Staatssammlung Munich and Ludwig- and they are often involved in complex biological

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Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, also noted that illegal poaching of carnivorous plants was a large problem.

"Noting their unique and fascinating features, some species of carnivorous plants are illegally collected from their natural habitats and sold to collectors. Poached plants of some species sell for hundreds of dollars," Dr. Fleischmann said.

Looking to the future, research co-author Dr. from Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, stressed the need for immediate action in to save carnivorous plants species from extinction.

"Conservation initiatives must be established immediately to prevent these species being lost in the coming years and decades," Dr. Robinson said.

"Urgent global action is required to reduce rates of habitat loss and land use change, particularly in already highly-cleared regions that are home to many threatened carnivorous plant species, including habitats in Western Australia, Brazil, southeast Asia and the United States of America."

More information: Adam T. Cross et al, Conservation of carnivorous plants in the age of extinction, Global Ecology and Conservation (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01272

Provided by Curtin University APA citation: New international research has found 25% of carnivorous plant species may be at risk of extinction (2020, September 24) retrieved 28 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2020-09-international-carnivorous-species-extinction.html

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