New genetic clues to the extinction of the passenger piegon

We have driven plenty of species to extinction. Much like the passenger pigeons. humans have exterminated passenger pigeons  by ruthless hunting in the late 19th century. Passenger pigeons had been the most abundant bird in North American. A single flock could contain more than a billion birds. Scientist now wonder why some pigeons did not survive in remote areas. A new study has been done on the pigeon’s genome. Published in the Science Journal it is said that the passenger pigeons did not have much of genetic diversity across the its vast population. Scientists looked at the DNA of the passenger pigeon and the study concluded that much of the bird;s genetic code shows signs of strong natural selection. The species was abundant for tens of thousands of years even in the face of major environmental and climate change and despite it all the species was resilient. I found this article to be interesting because I would have not thought that scientists have could find out why the passenger pigeons went extinct through genetic engineering.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/11/16/billions-or-bust-new-genetic-clues-to-the-extinction-of-the-passenger-pigeon/?utm_term=.8f18a099a0d3

https://news.ucsc.edu/2017/11/passenger-pigeons.html