Pubdate: Sun, 03 Dec 2006 Source: Lansing State Journal (MI) Copyright: 2006 Lansing State Journal Contact: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/contactus/newsroom/letter.html Website: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/232 Author: Catherine Lindell Note: Catherine Lindell is an assistant professor of zoology at Michigan State University. WAR ON DRUGS THREATENS FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS A bird species that is new to science was documented by researchers this year. The Yariguies brush-finch, with a yellow underside, black back and spike-like red feathers on its head, was discovered in Colombia. The name comes from the indigenous people who once lived in the mountains where it was found. Although it is increasingly unusual to discover new vertebrate species, it is not surprising that such an event should happen in Colombia. Colombia is about three times the size of Montana and is home to approximately 1,800 bird species. That is more than the number of bird species found in the U.S. and Canada combined and represents nearly 20 percent of all the bird species alive today worldwide. Colombia's great diversity of habitats, from lowland rainforests to the peaks of the Andes Mountains, has made it a hotbed for the evolution of new species. Many North Americans associate Colombia not with biological richness, however, but with drugs. Our mental pictures include fields of the coca plants used to produce cocaine, drug-related violence, and drug "mules", people who carry packets of cocaine in their bodies to countries where the drug is sold. The U.S.A.'s efforts to fight the impact of drugs in our country have included aerial spraying of herbicide on coca fields in Colombia. While these efforts have killed many coca plants, they have also resulted in the defoliation of nearby food crops and native forest. In work published this year, Joseph Messina and Paul Delamater of Michigan State University's Center for Global Change and Earth Observations demonstrated that 85,000 more acres of land were affected by herbicide spraying in 2001-02 than reported by the United Nations Drug Control Program. The U.N. estimates are reported to Congress and used in deliberations as to whether more spraying should occur. From an economic standpoint, misdirected herbicide applications result in the loss of food and legal cash crops by local farmers. They may also negatively influence biodiversity by destroying habitats important to plant and animal species. Species inhabiting tropical areas like Colombia often have very small geographic ranges. If a species is found in a limited number of forested sites and those sites are defoliated by herbicide, it may be a severe setback for that species. Unlike the Yariguies brush-finch, many tropical species remain unknown to science. And unlike the Yariguies brush-finch, whose home was recently declared a national park by the Colombian government, many of these unknown species may go extinct before we have even put a name to them. Illicit drugs are linked to many social ills we face today. However, we must fully understand the costs and benefits of our efforts to control illicit drugs if we are to make informed decisions about whether to support such efforts or not. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake