Scientists accidentally helping poachers to find rare species
lterrat's bookmarks 2017-06-08
Summary:
"Scientists have sent out a warning about publishing the location and habitat of endangered animals in scientific journals. Wildlife poachers are trawling online publications to target rare and exotic species as soon as the animals are described online.
In an report published in Science magazine , biologists David Lindenmayer and Benjamin Scheele at the Australian National University, urged scientists across the world not to share detailed information about where the species is found in their research reports. According to their study, more than 20 newly-described species and their habitats had been targeted by poachers through open-access location data."