Lazarus ecology: Recovering the distribution and migratory patterns of the extinct Carolina parakeet.

The study of the ecology and natural history of species has traditionally ceased when a species goes extinct, despite the benefit to current and future generations of potential findings. We used the extinct Carolina parakeet as a case study to develop a framework investigating the distributional limits, subspecific variation, and migratory habits of this species as a means to recover important information about recently extinct species. We united historical accounts with museum collections to develop an exhaustive, comprehensive database of every known occurrence of this once iconic species. With these data, we combined species distribution models and ordinal niche comparisons to confront multiple conjectured hypotheses about the parakeet's ecology with empirical data on where and when this species occurred. Our results demonstrate that the Carolina parakeet's range was likely much smaller than previously believed, that the eastern and western subspecies occupied different climatic niches with broad geographical separation, and that the western subspecies was likely a seasonal migrant while the eastern subspecies was not. This study highlights the novelty and importance of collecting occurrence data from published observations on extinct species, providing a starting point for future investigations of the factors that drove the Carolina parakeet to extinction. Moreover, the recovery of lost autecological knowledge could benefit the conservation of other parrot species currently in decline and would be crucial to the success of potential de-extinction efforts for the Carolina parakeet

Seasonal plumage condition variation and the thermal value of the feather coats of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Feathers are critical to how birds thermoregulate, and thus their total energy balance. The feather coat insulates birds by trapping air next to the skin and acting as a physical barrier to heat loss. Despite previous work studying thermal balance in birds, relatively few studies have focused on the thermal contribution of the feather coat alone; most studies have focused on physiological and behavioral responses. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have directly measured the effect of feather wear through the annual cycle on the thermal performance of the feather coat. To address this, we used a thermal camera to measure the temperature at the surface of the feather coat of live house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in winter (post-molt, unworn feathers) and summer (pre-molt, worn feathers), as well as flat-skins of the same specimens in order to isolate the thermal effect of the feather coat alone. We predicted that worn feather coats would lose more heat than unworn feather coats in both live birds and flat skins. Surprisingly, we found that feather wear had no effect on the thermal performance of the feather coat across seasons. The thermal balance of birds will be better understood when the thermal contribution of the feather coat is directly measured across more species and conditions

Parasite vulnerability to climate change:an evidence-based functional trait approach

Despite the number of virulent pathogens that are projected to benefit from global change and to spread in the next century, we suggest that a combination of coextinction risk and climate sensitivity could make parasites at least as extinction prone as any other trophic group. However, the existing interdisciplinary toolbox for identifying species threatened by climate change is inadequate or inappropriate when considering parasites as conservation targets. A functional trait approach can be used to connect parasites' ecological role to their risk of disappearance, but this is complicated by the taxonomic and functional diversity of many parasite clades. Here, we propose biological traits that may render parasite species particularly vulnerable to extinction (including high host specificity, complex life cycles and narrow climatic tolerance), and identify critical gaps in our knowledge of parasite biology and ecology. By doing so, we provide criteria to identify vulnerable parasite species and triage parasite conservation efforts

The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity

The study of the ecology of a species has traditionally ceased when that species goes extinct, despite the benefit to current and future generations of potential findings. We used the Carolina parakeet to develop a framework investigating the distributional limits, migratory habits, and extinction process as a means to recover important information. We developed a comprehensive database of every known occurrence of this iconic species. Using a combination of environmental niche modeling and extinction estimating analyses, our results demonstrate that the Carolina parakeet’s range was smaller than previously believed, the eastern and western subspecies occupied different niches with broad geographic separation, and that the western subspecies was a seasonal migrant while the eastern subspecies was not. We also found that it was likely habitat loss played a major role in their extinction. Our study highlights the importance of collecting occurrence data of extinct species and provides a framework for further investigations of other extinct species. Moreover, the recovery of lost autecological knowledge could benefit the conservation of other species currently in decline. Parrot conservation is a pressing matter, as parrots are the most threatened order of birds. As we enter the preliminary stages of the “Sixth Mass Extinction,” brought on by habitat destruction and climate change, conservation agencies are struggling to face the challenges of a less certain future. Further, there is often a barrier between recommendations made by the scientific community and implementation by conservation practitioners. Given these risks and disconnect between science and management practice, we identified areas of high species richness, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity and combined them into an Integrated Biodiversity Index (IBI) metric, for the global distribution of all parrots to assess if these areas are protected by current conservation efforts and resistant to climate change. We identified areas with high IBI that are currently resistant to climate change but under-protected; these areas are critical for current and future parrot conservation. We also identified pooly protected parrot species in areas especially sensitive to climate change. Our IBI and prioritization framework is flexible, easy to use, and applicable to any taxon or geographic region

Seasonal plumage condition variation and the thermal value of the feather coats of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Feathers are critical to how birds thermoregulate, and thus their total energy balance. The feather coat insulates birds by trapping air next to the skin and acting as a physical barrier to heat loss. Despite previous work studying thermal balance in birds, relatively few studies have focused on the thermal contribution of the feather coat alone; most studies have focused on physiological and behavioral responses. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have directly measured the effect of feather wear through the annual cycle on the thermal performance of the feather coat. To address this, we used a thermal camera to measure the temperature at the surface of the feather coat of live house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in winter (post-molt, unworn feathers) and summer (pre-molt, worn feathers), as well as flat-skins of the same specimens in order to isolate the thermal effect of the feather coat alone. We predicted that worn feather coats would lose more heat than unworn feather coats in both live birds and flat skins. Surprisingly, we found that feather wear had no effect on the thermal performance of the feather coat across seasons. The thermal balance of birds will be better understood when the thermal contribution of the feather coat is directly measured across more species and conditions

Parasite vulnerability to climate change: an evidence-based functional trait approach

Despite the number of virulent pathogens that are projected to benefit from global change and to spread in the next century, we suggest that a combination of coextinction risk and climate sensitivity could make parasites at least as extinction prone as any other trophic group. However, the existing interdisciplinary toolbox for identifying species threatened by climate change is inadequate or inappropriate when considering parasites as conservation targets. A functional trait approach can be used to connect parasites' ecological role to their risk of disappearance, but this is complicated by the taxonomic and functional diversity of many parasite clades. Here, we propose biological traits that may render parasite species particularly vulnerable to extinction (including high host specificity, complex life cycles and narrow climatic tolerance), and identify critical gaps in our knowledge of parasite biology and ecology. By doing so, we provide criteria to identify vulnerable parasite species and triage parasite conservation efforts