Coextinction 982004 199922277 2008-03-21T21:39:11Z 68.4.73.241 add references '''Coextinction''' of a [[species]] is the loss of one species upon the [[extinction]] of another. The term was originally used in the context of the extinction of [[parasite|parasitic]] [[insects]] following the loss of their specific hosts. The term is now used to describe the subsequent loss of any [[biological interaction|interacting]] species, including [[predator]]s with their [[prey]], and specialist [[herbivore]]s with their food source. The most often cited examples are that of the extinct [[passenger pigeon]] and its parasitic [[Bird louse|bird lice]] ''[[Columbicola extinctus]]'' and ''Campanulotes defectus''. Recently, ''C. extinctus'' was rediscovered on the [[Band-tailed Pigeon|band-tailed pigeon]],<ref name="Clayton1999">Clayton, D. H., and R. D. Price. 1999. Taxonomy of New World Columbicola (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from the Columbiformes (Aves), with descriptions of five new species. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 92:675–685.</ref> and ''C. defectus'' was found to be a likely case of misidentification of the existing ''[[Campanulotes flavus]]''.<ref name="Price2000">Price, R.D., D. H. Clayton, R. J. Adams, J. (2000) Pigeon lice down under: Taxonomy of Australian Campanulotes (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae), with a description of C. durdeni n.sp. Parasitol. 86(5), p 948-950. American Society of Parasitologists. [http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/ClaytonPDF/47.pdf Online pdf]</ref> However, even though the passenger pigeon lice story has a happy ending (i.e. rediscovery), coextinctions of other parasites, even on the passenger pigeon, may have occurred. Several louse species - such as ''[[Rallicola extinctus]]'', a [[huia]] parasite - probably became extinct together with its hosts (Mey, 1990). In a 2004 paper in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', [[ecology|ecologist]] [[Lian Pin Koh]] and colleagues discuss coextinction, stating <blockquote>"Species coextinction is a manifestation of the interconnectedness of organisms in complex [[ecosystem]]s. The loss of species through coextinction represents the loss of irreplaceable [[evolution]]ary and [[coevolution]]ary history. In view of the global extinction crisis, it is imperative that coextinction be the focus of future research to understand the intricate processes of species extinctions. While coextinction may not be the most important cause of species extinctions, it is certainly an insidious one." (Koh ''et al.'' 2004)</blockquote> Koh ''et al.'' also define '''coendangered''' as [[taxa]] <blockquote>"likely to go extinct if their currently endangered hosts [...] become extinct."</blockquote> One example is the near extinction of the genus ''[[Hibiscadelphus]]'' as a consequence of the disappearance of several of [[Hawaiian honeycreeper]]s, its [[pollinator]]s. There are several instances of [[predators]] and [[scavengers]] dying out following the disappearance of species which represented their source of food: for example, the coextinction of the [[Haast's Eagle]] with the [[moa]]. Coextinction may also occur on a local level: for example, the decline in the red ant ''[[Myrmica sabuleti]]'' in southern [[England]], caused by habitat loss, resulted in the local extinction of the [[Large Blue butterfly]], which is dependent on the ant as a host for the larvae. In this case the ant avoided local extinction, and the butterfly has been reintroduced. ==See also== * [[Dodo]] and [[Tambalacoque]], for a supposed case of near-coextinction that turned out to be much more complex ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further Reading== * '''Koh''', Lian Pin; Dunn, Robert R.; Sodhi, Navjot S.; Colwell, Robert K.; Proctor, Heather C. & Smith, Vincent S. (2004): Species Coextinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' '''305'''(5690): 1632-1634 <small>{{DOI|10.1126/science.1101101}}</small> (HTML abstract) [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/305/5690/1632/DC1 Supporting Online Material] * '''Mey''', E. (1990): Eine neue ausgestorbene Vogel-Ischnozere von Neuseeland, ''Huiacola extinctus'' (Insecta, Phthiraptera). ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' '''224'''(1/2): 49-73. [German with English abstract] [http://www.phthiraptera.org/Publications/0472.pdf PDF fulltext] ==External links== * [http://extinct.petermaas.nl/ The Extinction Website] [[Category:Ecology]] [[fr:Coextinction]]