The Bachman’s warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according to a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced. Genome comparisons of Bachman’s warbler with the golden-winged and blue-winged warblers also helped researchers identify a new candidate gene involved in feather pigmentation in the group. A paper describing the study, led by Penn State researchers, highlights the crucial role that museum collections can play in science and appeared on June 16, 2023 in the journal Current Biology. Golden-winged and blue-winged warblers produce a spectrum of hybrids, but two distinct types of hybrid offspring, each with a unique combination of the parent species’ colouration, have been the focus of bird watchers and ornithologists. This is because these two hybrids were thought to be distinct species themselves.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/

Extreme weather caused by climate change—such as flooding—will be easier to prepare for after scientists developed a new method that empowers citizens to identify solutions to the threats their communities face. The approach works by researchers bringing community groups together to discuss and understand the likely impacts of climate change in a local area. In the UK, these include indirect risks such as food shortages and energy disruption as well as physical threats such as heat stress and flooding.

Most climate adaptation initiatives are developed by governments or by businesses, rather than to help citizens help themselves. The new approach, published recently in Nature Climate Change, was created by researchers from the Universities of Reading and Surrey and involves generating maps and networks that can help citizens identify solutions to the threats their communities face.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/