University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 5-4-2017 The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity Kevin R. Burgio University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Burgio, Kevin R., "The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 1422. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1422 The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity Kevin Roy Burgio, PhD University of Connecticut, 2017 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. Kevin R. Burgio – University of Connecticut, [2017] 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. The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity Kevin Roy Burgio B.A., University of Connecticut, 2010 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2017 i Copyright by Kevin Roy Burgio 2017 ii APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation The Extinction of the Carolina Parakeet and Multiple Dimensions of Global Parrot Biodiversity Presented by Kevin R. Burgio, B.A. Major Advisor _________________________________________________________________ Margaret A. Rubega Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Robert K. Colwell Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Chadwick D. Rittenhouse Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Brian G. Walker Associate Advisor ______________________________________________________________ Michael R. Willig University of Connecticut 2017 iii Acknowledgements Chapters 1and 2 The authors would like to thank B. Askins, R. K. Colwell, A. Davis, E. Dougherty, W. Getz, E. Minor, C. Rittenhouse, M. Rubega, C. Schlichting, N. Snyder, B. Walker, and M. Willig for their feedback; M. Aiello-Lammens, O. Broennimann, R. Hijmans, and B. Muscarella for coding help and advice; K. Block and G. Nuttall for help with data collection; and the UConn Inter-Library Loan department for handling hundreds of inter-library loan requests. KRB was funded by NSF grant # DGE-0753455. Chapter 3 We thank R.K. Colwell, C. Rittenhouse, M. Rubega, and B. Walker for providing valuable feedback; M. Bottino and A. Petrullo for help compiling trait data; M. Schweizer for providing phylogenetic calibration data; and A. Seddon for providing climate change sensitivity data. KRB was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grant #DGE-0753455. Many of the methods in this paper were developed in part by KRB, LMD, LMC, BTK, SJP, and MRW’s participation in an NSF-funded project entitled “The Dimensions of Biodiversity Distributed Graduate Seminar” awarded to S. Andelman and J. Parrish (#DEB-1050680). iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................iv Chapter 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................2 Methods................................................................................................................................5 Results .................................................................................................................................9 Discussion .........................................................................................................................10 References .........................................................................................................................16 Tables and Figures ............................................................................................................22 Supplemental Information ................................................................................................25 Chapter 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................37 Methods.............................................................................................................................41 Results ...............................................................................................................................46 Discussion .........................................................................................................................48 References .........................................................................................................................53 Tables and figures .............................................................................................................58 Chapter 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................63 Methods.............................................................................................................................68 Results ...............................................................................................................................73 Discussion .........................................................................................................................75 References .........................................................................................................................82 v Figures and tables .............................................................................................................89 Supplementary Information…………………………………………………………….100 Appendix 1 ..................................................................................................................................109 Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………………………...…110 Appendix 3 ..................................................................................................................................123 Appendix 4……………………………………………………………………………………...128 vi Chapter 1: Lazarus ecology: recovering the distribution and migratory patterns of the extinct Carolina parakeet Short title: Recovering the Carolina parakeet’s distribution Authors: Kevin R. Burgio1, Colin J. Carlson2, Morgan W. Tingley1 Affiliations: 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut; 75 N. Eagleville Rd. U-3043, Storrs, CT, 06269. 2 Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley; 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720. Corresponding Author: Kevin R. Burgio - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut; 75 N. Eagleville Rd U-3043, Storrs, CT, 06269; (860) 485-0309; [email protected] Keywords: Carolina parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis, distribution modeling, extinction, natural history, niche comparison, SDM, seasonal movements 1 Introduction The sixth mass extinction has dominated ecological research in the last decade, but by and large, recently extinct species are a dead end for natural historical