Ecotasia's video: How We Failed to Save the Dusky Seaside Sparrow

Once a little bird sang in the marshes of Merritt Island and Cape CanveraI, but went extinct after the Space Race led to the distruction of their habitat. Then the Walt Disney Company and tried to make hybrid sparrows on the now abandoned discovery island before the last captive bird died. This may sound like a made up story, but I assure you it is true. This is the story of how we failed to save the Dusky Seaside Sparrow; as well as the wildlife of Marrit Island today, from flocks of wading birds to the Florida Scrub Jay, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the current conservation work to save one of America's rarest birds today. The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Credits “Discovery Island at Walt Disney World in 1981” Nicholas Percoco, 12 May 2018, Creative Commons Sources [1] Avise, J. C., & Nelson, W. S. (1989). Molecular genetic relationships of the extinct dusky seaside sparrow. Science, 243(4891), 646–648. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.243.4891.646 [2] Dusky seaside sparrow. Bagheera. (2021, October 25). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://bagheera.com/dusky-seaside-sparrow/ [3]Hardy, John William (1983) [Presented on 2 October 1981]. Quay, Thomas L.; Funderberg, Jr., John B.; Lee, David S.; Potter, Eloise F.; Robbins, Chandler S. (eds.). Geographic Variation in Primary Song of the Seaside Sparrow. The Seaside Sparrow, Its Biology and Management. Raleigh: North Carolina Biological Survey. pp. 95–98. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.141714. LCCN 84622797. [4] Kennedy Space Center: Visiting Florida's. Kennedy Space Center | Visiting Florida's. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20131006003823/http://kscvisit.com/cape-canaveral.html [5] Trost, Charles H. (1968). "Ammospiza nigrescens (Ridgway): Dusky seaside sparrow". In Bent, Arthur Cleveland; Austin, Jr., Oliver L. (eds.). Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies, Part 2. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 849–859. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.237.1. United States National Museum Bulletin 237. [6] Dusky seaside sparrow - the rarest race of all. Birds Information and Facts. (2020, March 19). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.birdsinfo.org/dusky-seaside-sparrow/ [7] Hill, Kevin (1992). "The Endangered Species Act: What Do We Mean by Species?". Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review. 20 (2): 239–264. [8] Peterson, C. (1987, June 18). Goodbye, dusky seaside sparrow. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/06/18/goodbye-dusky-seaside-sparrow/b8c8d618-54eb-4f17-a10c-3fbae9eb0672/ [9] Zink, R. M., & Kale, H. W. (1995). Conservation genetics of the extinct dusky seaside sparrow Ammodramus Maritimus nigrescens. Biological Conservation, 74(1), 69–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(95)00010-2 [10] Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. FWS.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.fws.gov/refuge/merritt-island/about-us [11] Emslie, Steven D. (1996). "A fossil scrub jay supports a recent systematic decision" (PDF). The Condor. 98 (4): 675–680. doi:10.2307/1369850. JSTOR 1369850. [12] BirdLife International. (2016). Aphelocoma coerulescens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705629A94028132.en. [13] Bevil, Dewayne (July 13, 2009). "Landmark rhino has roots at Disney's Animal Kingdom". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. [14] Scott, S. R. (2007). Conserving, consuming, and improving on nature at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Theatre Topics, 17(2), 111–127. https://doi.org/10.1353/tt.2008.0005 [15] Kobilinsky, Dana (28 September 2022). "Rare Florida sparrow makes a comeback". The Wildlife Society. 0:00 Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow 1:25 What was the Dusky Seaside Sparrow 2:56 How NASA and the Space Race Caused a Bird to Go Extinct 7:29 The Plan to Save the Dusky Seaside Sparrow 8:25 When an Bird Went Extinct at Disney World 12:04 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 14:14 A Visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom 21:46 Disney's current Conservation Efforts 23:00 A Critique of Disney's Animal Kingdom 27:16 Saving the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow 29:27 Conclusion I try to achieve the most well researched content I can, that said it is impossible to create content that is exhaustive on a given topic and therefore I implore you to investigate a given topic further. Conservation Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx5OP7sbAZAIUm5UCl84q2KU2nI3YLpx