Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act

Theimer, Tad C.; Smith, Aaron D.; Mahoney, Sean M.; Ironside, Kirsten E.

doi:10.1650/condor-15-71.1

Cited by 11 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Some researchers have questioned the subspecies designation of the southwestern willow flycatcher, suggesting that it is a peripheral population of an otherwise widespread species with no evidence for ecological distinctiveness (Zink ), although this suggestion has been questioned (Theimer et al . ). Here, we use ecological genomics to investigate the potential for ecological distinctiveness within the willow flycatcher as well as the potential role of rising global temperatures on its future persistence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Population declines have been attributed to loss of riparian habitats in the Southwest following dam-building, water diversions, groundwater pumping, urbanisation, agricultural development and livestock grazing (Service 2002), but the role that climate change may have played in declines is unknown. Some researchers have questioned the subspecies designation of the southwestern willow flycatcher, suggesting that it is a peripheral population of an otherwise widespread species with no evidence for ecological distinctiveness (Zink 2015), although this suggestion has been questioned (Theimer et al 2016). Here, we use ecological genomics to investigate the potential for ecological distinctiveness within the willow flycatcher as well as the potential role of rising global temperatures on its future persistence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird

et al. 2018

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Few regions have been more severely impacted by climate change in the USA than the Desert Southwest. Here, we use ecological genomics to assess the potential for adaptation to rising global temperatures in a widespread songbird, the willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), and find the endangered desert southwestern subspecies (E. t. extimus) most vulnerable to future climate change. Highly significant correlations between present abundance and estimates of genomic vulnerability - the mismatch between current and predicted future genotype-environment relationships - indicate small, fragmented populations of the southwestern willow flycatcher will have to adapt most to keep pace with climate change. Links between climate-associated genotypes and genes important to thermal tolerance in birds provide a potential mechanism for adaptation to temperature extremes. Our results demonstrate that the incorporation of genotype-environment relationships into landscape-scale models of climate vulnerability can facilitate more precise predictions of climate impacts and help guide conservation in threatened and endangered groups.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird

et al. 2018

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“…In my opinion, Theimer et al [12] misrepresent how the USFWS interpreted the DPS and misinterpret this part of the ESA and subsequent amendments. Specifically, contra Theimer et al [12], the ESA does not state that "gene flow among adjoining populations will necessarily result in a complex boundary where genes and the phenotypic traits associated with them intergrade, making designations of subspecies and DPS boundaries difficult" [12].…”

Section: Taxonomy Range and Interpreting The Us Endangered Speciementioning

confidence: 94%

“…It is important to consider how agencies interpret taxonomic categories relative to interpretations by researchers. Theimer et al [12] cite a portion of a 1973 amendment to the ESA concerning taxonomic categories, which stated that protection could be applied to "any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature". The Endangered Species Act in 1973 defined "species" to include "subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants and any other group of fish or wildlife of the same species or smaller taxa in common spatial arrangement that interbreed when mature."…”

Section: Taxonomy Range and Interpreting The Us Endangered Speciementioning

confidence: 99%

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Current Topics in Avian Conservation Genetics with Special Reference to the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

Zink¹

2016

TOOENIJ

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It is sometimes said that scientists are entitled to their own opinions but not their own set of facts. This suggests that application of the scientific method ought to lead to a single conclusion from a given set of data. However, sometimes scientists have conflicting opinions about which analytical methods are most appropriate or which subsets of existing data are most relevant, resulting in different conclusions. Thus, scientists might actually lay claim to different sets of facts. However, if a contrary conclusion is reached by selecting a subset of data, this conclusion should be carefully scrutinized to determine whether consideration of the full data set leads to different conclusions. This is important because conservation agencies are required to consider all of the best available data and make a decision based on them. Therefore, exploring reasons why different conclusions are reached from the same body of data has relevance for management of species. The purpose of this paper was to explore how two groups of researchers can examine the same data and reach opposite conclusions in the case of the taxonomy of the endangered subspecies Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). It was shown that use of subsets of data and characters rather than reliance on entire data sets can explain conflicting conclusions. It was recommend that agencies tasked with making conservation decisions rely on analyses that include all relevant molecular, ecological, behavioral, and morphological data, which in this case show that the subspecies is not valid, and hence its listing is likely not warranted.

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Improving conservation policy with genomics: a guide to integrating adaptive potential into U.S. Endangered Species Act decisions for conservation practitioners and geneticists

et al. 2018

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Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act

Cited by 11 publications

References 26 publications

Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird

Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird

Current Topics in Avian Conservation Genetics with Special Reference to the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

Improving conservation policy with genomics: a guide to integrating adaptive potential into U.S. Endangered Species Act decisions for conservation practitioners and geneticists

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