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from the bird-brained-humans-did-them-in dept.
Four billion passenger pigeons vanished. Their large population may have been what did them in
Four billion passenger pigeons once darkened the skies of North America, but by the end of the 19th century, they were all gone. Now, a new study reveals that the birds' large numbers are ironically what did them in. The pigeons evolved quickly, but in such a way to make them more vulnerable to hunting and other threats.
[...] In 2014, Wen-San Huang, an evolutionary biologist at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei, and colleagues turned to DNA in an attempt to solve the mystery. Genetic material from four 19th century museum specimens revealed that the species had relatively low genetic diversity—meaning that most individuals were remarkably similar to each other—and that its numbers had fluctuated 1000-fold for millions of years. Hunting and habitat loss came during a time when the species was already declining, the team concluded, which pushed the birds over the edge.
But the new study lays the lion's share of the blame back on people. Beth Shapiro, a paleogenomicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and colleagues sequenced the complete genomes of two passenger pigeons, and analyzed the mitochondrial genomes—which reside in structures that power cells—of 41 individuals. The specimens came from throughout the bird's range. In addition, they reanalyzed data from Hung's group, and, for comparison, sequenced the bird's closest living relative, the band-tailed pigeon.
[...] [The] passenger pigeon's huge population is what made it vulnerable [DOI: 10.1126/science.aao0960] [DX], Shapiro's team reports today in Science. The birds were able to adapt faster to their environment—and spread these changes quickly within their population—but this also caused all of them to be fairly genetically similar. And when a new threat—like human hunters and habitat loss—came around, they suddenly found their physiology and behavior were poorly suited for their declining numbers. Their population "went from being superbig to supersmall so fast they didn't have time to adapt," in part because they lacked the diversity to cope with this new way of living, Shapiro says.
According to Wikipedia:
The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager, meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species. The scientific name also refers to its migratory characteristics.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday November 21 2017, @02:30AM
Almost all buffalo hunters were paid. By the local govermnents, OR for the hide. It was more than sport.
And the Army's involvement was not what some would have you believe. General Sherman suggested he wanted to eradicate the buffalo, however "While there is ample evidence that this belief was shared by some of the army leadership ... there is little evidence that it was directly acted upon in any significant way." See. [wikipedia.org]
Hunting for meat was less important than hides, because refrigeration was a serious problem.
Some was salted and shipped east.
Wiki says:
The species' dramatic decline was the result of habitat loss due to the expansion of ranching and farming in western North America, industrial-scale hunting practised by non-indigenous hunters, increased indigenous hunting pressure due to non-indigenous demand for bison hides and meat, and even cases of deliberate policy by settler governments to destroy the food source of the native Indian peoples during times of conflict.
It was dirty stinky work. It was never for sport until the large herds had been mostly wiped out. Some States hold sport hunts now, but getting a license is difficult because herd management is strictly practiced.
(Of course the indians would drive entire herds over a cliff (google buffalo jump) just to harvest the tongues, so stupidity ran rampant all around).
There seems to be a lot of historical revisionism going on here today.
But one thing is for certain:
The Mediterranean song bird shoots continue to this day.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.