Taiwan-US study sheds light on species extinction

2015-01-09

A study on the extinction of passenger pigeons by researchers from Taiwan and the U.S. was the subject of a top 10 story for 2014 selected by Washington-based National Academy of Sciences.

The paper Drastic Population Fluctuations Explain the Rapid Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon was published in the July 22 issue of NAS’s Proceedings. It received wide media coverage, including Boom-and-Bust Cycles Doomed Passenger Pigeon carried in Nature magazine.

Led by Hung Chih-ming, a postdoctoral associate at Taipei City-based National Taiwan Normal University, the team comprised six other scholars from Academia Sinica, Taichung City-based National Museum of Natural Science, NTNU and the Univeristy of Minnesota.

According to the study, the number of passenger pigeons in North America went from an estimated 3-5 billion in the 1800s to zero in 1914, in contrast to conventional wisdom that enormous population size provides a buffer against extinction. And while human exploitation is often blamed, the role of natural population dynamics in the birds’ demise remains unexplored.

Using ecological niche modeling, as well as DNA samples extracted from specimens at Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis, the study suggests that the species was not always super abundant but experienced dramatic population fluctuations. In addition, ecological conditions could have also played a part in the bird’s rapid demise.

According to Huang Wen-san, an NMNS researcher and team member, understanding the population history of a species is key to assessing the role of humans in its extinction.

“Our findings provide a new perspective on the greatest human-caused extinction in recorded history,” Huang said. “The study is significant, as there have been five major cases of extinctions in history, with the sixth already set in motion by human beings.”

Citing a study by Global Amphibian Assessment, Huang said around 120 species have died out since 1980, with one-third of those remaining facing serious threat as a result of habitat destruction.

Huang said the passenger pigeon tragedy serves as a cautionary tale for human beings. “If we continue to trash the environment, we are also doomed to extinction.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=226021&CtNode=413)