Passenger pigeon genome shows effects of natural selection in a huge population
The passenger pigeon is famous for the enormity of its historical population and for its rapid extinction in the face of mass slaughter by humans. Yet it remains a mystery why the species wasn’t able to survive in a few small populations. One theory, consistent with the findings of a new study, suggests that passenger pigeons were well adapted to living in huge flocks, but poorly adapted to living in smaller groups. …read more
