Ecologists develop a novel forensic tool for detecting laundering of critically endangered cockatoos

Ecologists have applied stable isotope techniques to determine whether birds in the pet trade are captive or wild-caught, a key piece of evidence required in many cases to determine whether a trade is legal or not. They have applied this technique to the yellow-crested cockatoo, a critically endangered species from Indonesia/Timor-Leste with a global population of fewer than 2,500.