#conuropsis

[scottpartridge]

Carolina Parakeets, after John James Audubon. 

Available at redbubble.com

[dendroica]

Carolina parakeet extinction was driven by human causes, DNA sequencing reveals

Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, a joint institute of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) in Barcelona and the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen have unveiled the genome of the Carolina parakeet, declared extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. Researchers explored the genome for signs found in endangered species but did not find them, suggesting that Carolina parakeet extinction was an abrupt process and thus solely attributable to human causes.

The Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) is an iconic North American bird declared extinct at the beginning of the 20th century after the death of the last specimen at the Cincinnati zoo in 1918. It was the member of the parrot family to live in the highest northern latitude of the planet, and was distributed from southern New England to the Gulf of Mexico, and all the way to eastern Colorado. It had a striking colour pattern: green in the body, yellow on its head and orange on its face.

Despite flying in noisy flocks of hundreds of individuals, it was extensively hunted during the last decades of the 19th century, in part for obtaining its feathers to decorate hats. Still, the cause of its extinction remains contentious. Although its excessive mortality could well be associated with its recent habitat destruction and active hunting, its survival could also been negatively affected by its range having become increasingly patchy or by the exposure to poultry pathogens.

Now, an international team of researchers, led by IBE Research Professor Carles Lalueza-Fox and Globe Institute Professor M. Thomas P. Gilbert has reconstructed the first complete genome of the extinct Carolina parakeet unveiling the evolutionary history and possible cause of extinction of this paradigmatic bird.

Researchers sampled the tibia bone and the toe pads of a naturalized specimen preserved in a private collection at Espinelves (Girona, Spain) that was collected by Catalan naturalist Marià Masferrer (1856-1923). In order to map the complete genome of the extinct bird, they had to sequence first the genome of a close living relative, the Aratinga solstitialis or sun parakeet from South America.

The genomic analysis of both genomes along with hundreds of other avian genomes determined that the Carolina parakeet and the sun parakeet diverged around 3 million years ago, coinciding with the closing of the Isthmus of Panama.

The Carolina parakeet showed a predilection for eating cockleburs, a plant that contains a powerful toxic that didn't affect the bird but made them notoriously toxic for predators. The genomic analysis unveiled a potential adaptation to this cocklebur diet in two extremely conserved proteins that are known to interact with this toxic.

Researchers also explored the genome for signs of inbreeding and population decline that are sometimes found in endangered species but did not find them, which suggests that its rapid extinction was mainly a human-mediated process. Now, experts wonder if de-extinguishing the Carolina parakeet would be possible. "Despite the Carolina parakeet appears in all de-extinction lists, we found hundreds of genetic changes predicted to be deleterious with the closest living relative, the sun parakeet, which indicates the enormous difficulties of undertaking such enterprises," says Lalueza-Fox.

[heycalacademy]

Carolina parakeet / CAS-ORN 61610

Scientific name: Conuropsis carolinensis carolinensis   Higher Geography: North America Age [Sex]: U-Ad [U] Department: Ornithology & Mammalogy, image © California Academy of Sciences

[robertsparrowjones]

Looking close at structural color, The Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) has amazing plumage from lime green, to aqua, to orange!!! #burkemuseum #orinthology #birdartist #carolinaparakeet #extinct #Conuropsis carolinensis (at Burke Museum)

[dinodorks]

Conuropsis fratercula by RSNascimento

[king-in-yellow]

Rare photo of a live Carolina Parakeet named "Doodles", owned by Paul Bartsch, sitting on Mr. Bryan, 1906.

The Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States. It was found from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf of Mexico, and lived in old forests along rivers. It was the only species at the time classified in the genus Conuropsis. It was called puzzi la née ("head of yellow") or pot pot chee by the Seminole and kelinky in Chikasha.[2]

The last known wild specimen was killed in Okeechobee County, Florida, in 1904, and the last captive bird died at the Cincinnati Zoo on February 21, 1918. This was the male specimen "Incas," who died within a year of his mate "Lady Jane." Coincidentally, Incas died in the same aviary cage in which the last Passenger Pigeon, "Martha," had died nearly four years prior.[3] It was not until 1939, however, that it was determined that the Carolina Parakeet had become extinct. 

The Carolina Parakeet is believed to have died out because of a number of different threats. To make space for more agricultural land, large areas of forest were cut down, taking away its habitat. The bird's colorful feathers (green body, yellow head, and red around the bill) were in demand as decorations in ladies' hats. The birds were also kept as pets and could be bred easily in captivity. However, little was done by owners to increase the population of tamed birds. Finally, they were killed in large numbers because farmers considered them a pest, although many farmers valued them for controlling invasive cockleburs. It has also been hypothesized that the introduced honeybee helped contribute to its extinction by taking many of the bird's nesting sites.[5]

A factor that contributed to their extinction was the unfortunate flocking behavior that led them to return immediately to a location where some of the birds had just been killed. This led to even more being shot by hunters as they gathered about the wounded and dead members of the flock.

Aw, man! I had seen Audubon's engraving of them, and I'd seen the stuffed parrots, but I'd never seen a live one cuddling with its owner. Sad.