Ammodramus m. nigrescens (Dusky Seaside Sparrow)

[Melly]

Dusky seaside sparrow. The dusky seaside sparrow subspecies (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens) was a small songbird that existed only on Merritt Island
and the upper St. Johns River marshes of Brevard County, Florida. Populations of the sparrow declined as its salt marsh habitat was converted to freshwater
mosquito-control impoundments, or drained. The use of DDT to control mosquitos was also suspected as a contributing factor in the species' decline.

Dusky seaside sparrows were first listed as endangered in 1967 under the ESPA (32 FR 4001). The last remaining wild birds, all males, were taken into captivity in
1979 and 1980 to begin a captive breeding program. The males were mated with females of a closely related subspecies (Scott's seaside sparrow, A. m.
peninsulae) to try to preserve their genetic information. The hybrid offspring were not protected under the ESA and the breeding program proved unsuccessfiil. The
last male sparrow died on June 16, 1987, and the hybrid offspring died by the summer of 1989. In 1990, the FWS declared the dusky seaside sparrow extinct and
took it off the endangered species list (55 FR 51112).

[another specialist]

here is good link with photo of this species



www.earthwitness.com/Orange%20Band.htm

[another specialist]

The dusky seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens) was endemic to Merritt
Island and the upper St. Johns River marshes of Brevard County, Florida. It declined as its
salt marsh habitat was drained or converted to freshwater mosquito-control impounds [175].
The use of DDT to control mosquitoes was also suspected as a contributing factor. The last
remaining wild birds-- all male --were taken into captivity in 1979 and 1980 and mated with
the closely related A. m. peninsulae. It was hoped that backcrossing would produce a
subspecies nearly identical to A. m. nigrenscens, but the program was terminated by the
Reagan administration and the last pure sparrow died on June 16, 1987. The hybrid offspring
had died by the summer of 1989.

www.earthwitness.com/Orange%20Band.htm

[another specialist]

The ESA came too late for the dusky seaside sparrow, a native of saltmarshes near Cape Canaveral, Florida. The sparrow was included on the first endangered species list in 1967. However, the majority of its habitat was lost prior to the passage of the 1973 Act, during the conversion of Cape Canaveral from saltmarsh ecosystem to the hub of the U.S. space program in the 1960s. By 1979 only six birds remained, all of them male, and a last-ditch effort to save the sparrow through cross-breeding with a related subspecies failed. The last dusky seaside sparrow died in captivity in 1987.

www.audubon.org/campaign/esa/ark.html

[sebbe67]

The dusky seaside sparrow became extinct in 1987. It is widely considered to be the most recent, well-documented extinction of a vertebrate in the United States.

This black and white shorebird lived on the east coast of Florida and was especially abundant on Merritt Island. The dusky seaside sparrow depended on moist cordgrass (Spartina bakerii) habitat for nesting sites. Suitable habitat usually is found only at 10-15 feet above sea level. Lower areas are too wet and dense for the sparrow, while higher areas are too dry to support cordgrass.

The decline and disappearance of the dusky seaside sparrow is due entirely to the loss of its habitat. Problems with mosquitoes breeding in the marsh area adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center led to a mosquito control program in 1963 in which the marsh was flooded. No attempt was made to reduce the harmful effects of the flooding on wildlife that depended on that habitat, such as the dusky seaside sparrow.

Fortunately, another population of dusky seaside sparrows was found in a different marsh and the US Fish and Wildlife Service was persuaded to purchase the area for a reserve. Unfortunately, the reserve did not successfully protect the sparrows. The Florida Department of Transportation built a highway through the marsh in order to connect the Kennedy Space Center to Disney World. The remaining marsh eventually was drained for real estate development.

The sparrow's cordgrass habitat could only grow in a very narrow range of moisture conditions. When one habitat area was flooded and the other drained, there was nowhere for the dusky seaside sparrow to live. In the mid-1970s, an effort was made to restore natural water flow in one of the areas. While native vegetation did gradually return, it was too late for the sparrow.

In 1979 and 1980, a captive breeding program was established. However, only seven dusky seaside sparrows were located and they were all male. Because there were no females left to help reproduce the species, the captive breeding program brought in females from a closely related subspecies of sparrow. Cross-breeding attempts, such as this, are designed to preserve some of the genetic diversity represented by a species. The female offspring of the cross-bred pair could then breed with the other male dusky seaside sparrows. Through this kind of breeding, an individual with a very high percentage of dusky seaside sparrow genes (although not 100%) could live to carry on much of the genetic diversity that would otherwise be lost. Unfortunately, the cross-breeding attempts were unsuccessful. The last dusky seaside sparrow died in captivity in 1987.

Questions for Thought
Why was the dusky seaside sparrow not saved by the Endangered Species Act?

Even if the cross-breeding had been successful, could we really say that the dusky seaside sparrow had been saved?

If the dusky seaside sparrow had not had such specialized habitat needs, it would not have become extinct. What does this indicate about other animals which can live only in a type of habitat that is not common?

www.bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_sparrow.htm

[sebbe67]

one pic and a new photo

library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312706/duskysparrow.jpg

animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/phil_myers/ADW_birds_3_4_03/dusky_seaside_sparrow.jpg/medium.jpg

[sebbe67]

Dusky Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens)


last specimen (of final flock all males) died at Disney World, Orlando, Florida in 1987

ground-dwelling saltwater marsh omnivore endemic to Merrit Island, Florida

specimens in Washington

disappeared after drainage of salt marsh for construction; also DDT poisoning, fires, and predation by introduced pig frogs and boat-tailed grackles following saltwater impoundment

www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/heywood/geog358/extinctb/DSeaSpar.htm

[buddyrus]

I remeber vividly when this species became extinct. They did a number of news stories on it in the States in the days following the last male's death. I remember thinking "how sad". It was the first thing that sparked my interest in modern extinctions. I remember writing the date of it's extinction in my "IUCN Red List" book that my mom bought me at the Smithsonian the year before (back then they included subspecies.) I just went back and looked at it and, indeed...June, 1987. Wow, that really hits home...

[another specialist]

thanks buddyrus for your thoughts and memories - a nice touch to add to this thread

[david]

What makes made it a subspecies and not a full species?

[Melanie]

It was the Merrit Island population of the Seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus). That means the relationship to the Seaside sparrow is so strong that you can not see it as own species.

[david]

Well if we were to compare pictures:
www.avesphoto.com/website/NA/species/SPASEA-1.htm
+
www.echofund.org/Endangered%20Species%20Watch/dusky%20sparrow%20shadow.jpg
seems to me there is quite a differnce.

[another specialist]

sebbe67 said:

one pic and a new photo

library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312706/duskysparrow.jpg

animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/phil_myers/ADW_birds_3_4_03/dusky_seaside_sparrow.jpg/medium.jpg

[another specialist]

www.fws.gov/endangered/esb/96/recover2.html

[another specialist]

www.crescent.edu.sg/pbl/2ksec1/1g1(1)/extinct.htm

[another specialist]

eu.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/pd--12818962/sp--A/Dusky_Seaside_Sparrow_Florida.htm

[another specialist]

bp2.blogger.com/_Iv27D5IvHbY/RxOtMzEq_FI/AAAAAAAADQE/_8IyVEhf8RM/s1600-h/sparrow2.jpg

[another specialist]

bna.birds.cornell.edu

[another specialist]

Birds in Jeopardy: The Imperiled and Extinct Birds of the United States and Canada
by Paul Ehrlich (Author), David Dobkin (Author), Darryl Wheye (Author)

[another specialist]

Here is a image of the last one




ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/endangered-species/sartore-photography