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(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Diving birds are more prone to extinction, says new study

(April-2023)

Diving birds like penguins, puffins and cormorants may be more prone to extinction than non-diving birds, according to a new study by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.
The ability to dive is quite rare in birds, with less than a third of the 727 species of water birds using this way of hunting for food.

The researchers found that body size amongst the diving birds had evolved differently depending on the type of diving they did.
Wing divers, such as penguins and puffins, use their wings to propel themselves through the water. These birds tend to have larger body sizes adapted for swimming.
Birds that “foot dive”, such as cormorants, kick their feet to swim and are similarly larger in body size to the wing divers.
Whilst the research found no significant difference in speciation rate for diving birds versus non-diving species, they also found that many diving birds appeared to be more prone to extinction than non-diving species.
The techniques used by the researchers could be used to help conservationists predict which species are most at risk of extinction from an evolutionary perspective.