Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

Blockstein, David E.

doi:10.2173/bna.paspig.02

Cited by 10 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Where breeding is socially facilitated, reduced populations may ultimately be driven to extinction through Allee effects (inverse density dependence defined as a positive relationship between population density and survival and reproduction; Allee 1931, Courchamp and Clutton-Brock 1999, Stephens and Sutherland 1999. Passenger Pigeon, once the most abundant bird in North America, may have ultimately succumbed to extinction following widespread hunting and habitat loss because it could not survive at low population densities (Blockstein 2002, Bucher 1992, Stephens and Sutherland 1999, Wilcove 1999.…”

Section: Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introducmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of extinction: population decline in the colonially nesting Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor

Cook¹,

Toft

2005

Bird Conservation International

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Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor is a rapidly declining species largely endemic to California and forms larger breeding colonies than any other extant North American landbird following the extinction of Passenger Pigeon Ectopistes migratorius. We present information on its distribution, breeding habitat and changes in global population size using data collected since the 1930s. We also present data on reproductive success at 103 colonies between 1992 and 2003. While possibly once the most abundant bird throughout much of its range, it declined by over 50% between the 1930s and early 1990s, and by a further c. 56% between 1994 and 2000. The global population is now smaller than the historic size of some individual breeding colonies. Reproductive success was significantly higher in upland non-native vegetation (primarily Himalayan blackberry Rubus discolor) than in native emergent cattail Typha spp. and bulrush Scirpus spp. marshes, its likely predominant historic breeding habitat. Contemporary losses of important upland nesting substrate, combined with low reproductive success in native habitats and complete breeding failure in harvested agricultural fields, are the most likely causes of recent declines. Recovery of this species presents possible conflicts in conservation policy because successful reproduction now largely depends on invasive non-native plants and the willingness of farmers to delay harvest or to lose portions of their crops.

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Section: Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introducmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of extinction: population decline in the colonially nesting Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor

Cook¹,

Toft

2005

Bird Conservation International

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“…Laying times of the Passenger Pigeon.-Passenger Pigeons apparently laid only clutches of one egg, 23 thus making it more difficult to determine laying times in the field because the day on which the single egg was to be laid would not be known for sure and, hence, empty nests likely would have to have been checked leading up to the actual laying day. This difficulty is comparable to determining laying times of first eggs of the Mourning Dove and most other species of birds.…”

Section: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hour of Egg Laying of the Mourning Dove in Manitoba, and a Look at an Early Data-Set on Laying Times of Captive Mourning Doves and Passenger Pigeons

Sealy¹

2012

bluejay

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“…Populations were so large and expansive researchers have speculated the birds must have affected the physical structure and tree species composition of eastern deciduous forests (Webb , Ellsworth and McComb ). We will never know how large and expansive pigeon populations were in pre‐Columbian times or how the birds may have responded to declines in native human populations (Mann ) or the “Little Ice Age” during 1500–1850 (Blockstein ), but passenger pigeons must have appeared to European colonists as an inexhaustible resource able to withstand almost unlimited exploitation.…”

Section: Abundance Exploitation and Disappearancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Martha spent her life in captivity (Greenberg ), she belonged to a species that once numbered 3–5 billion and inhabited over half of North America (Schorger ). Much has been written chronicling the species' vast numbers, nomadic movements, extensive range, and rapid population decline (Schorger , Bucher , Blockstein , Greenberg ); historians and scientists continue to discuss hypotheses of the species' historical population dynamics and ultimate reasons for its decline and extinction (Bucher , Cassista ). The passenger pigeon story, however, provides valuable lessons for wildlife managers and policy‐makers in the 21st century.…”

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confidence: 99%

100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon extinction: Lessons for a complex and uncertain future

2014

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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon's (Ectopistes migratorius) extinction. Our goal is to review the bird's abundance and extinction along with several valuable lessons. The tragic extinction of the passenger pigeon helped launch the modern conservation era, and it is a story providing a stark reminder of potential consequences of reactionary and ineffective management decision processes. Similar to the extinction of passenger pigeons, we suggest multiple complex and polarized issues provide modern examples of pending ecological challenges that are effectively being ignored. Using climate change as an example, it is just as easy for people today to ignore emerging environmental system changes as it was for people in the late 19th century to ignore the implications of their actions. Although we have successfully recovered many wildlife species in the past 100 years, we have important work ahead of us requiring a more comprehensive problem-solving paradigm if we are to have a meaningful effect. Ó 2014 The Wildlife Society.

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Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Dynamics of extinction: population decline in the colonially nesting Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor

Dynamics of extinction: population decline in the colonially nesting Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor

Hour of Egg Laying of the Mourning Dove in Manitoba, and a Look at an Early Data-Set on Laying Times of Captive Mourning Doves and Passenger Pigeons

100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon extinction: Lessons for a complex and uncertain future

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