These new insights, combined with a study of forest ecology, clearly show that these birds were key engineers of forest dynamics. So far, researchers have found that passenger pigeons originated over 12 million years ago, and were exceptionally evolved to live in dense flocks. For passenger pigeons, the answer is simple: recently, almost a millennium after their man-driven extinction, we finally understand the critical role they played in shaping the eastern North American ecosphere. “Why go through the trouble” is something his team gets asked, said Novak. Yes, biodiversity is important but who is to say that an extinct species can adapt and survive in an ecological system that’s moved on since its passing? Or perhaps more importantly, what if newly-revived animals-a true “invasive species” for Earth-cause more damage than good to our fragile ecosystem? To some, de-extinction is an ecological-sized guilt trip, a species-wide Pet Cemetery horror story ripe for disaster. Novak is among a small group of “ de-extinction” engineers, a relatively fringe group of scientists that hope to use genetic engineering to protect or revive iconic animal species ravaged by human activity. That’s why Novak, working with a Californian Institute called Revive & Restore, is aiming to bring back the species and re-introduce it into its natural habitat-with the help of common pigeons and the power of CRISPR. “When the bird went extinct in 1914, it was a somber awakening of the power of industrial humanity to wipe out even the most abundant of natural resources,” he said. The sheer number of these birds-in combination with their tree seed diets-fashioned them into one of the most important ecosystem engineers of their time, “shaping the patchwork habitat dynamics that these forests relied upon, ecosystems now losing diversity without the passenger pigeon,” said Ben Novak, a lead scientist at Revive & Restore. Once the dominant species in eastern North America, passenger pigeons roamed the forests in giant flocks up to several billions of individuals for tens of thousands of years before their numbers were snuffed out. When Martha the passenger pigeon died in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo, it marked the end of an era.
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