Press

ALBANY, NY (September 23, 2009) – Documenting one of the first studies of its kind, a New York State Museum scientist has co-authored a research article published today in a leading scientific journal showing how ancient DNA sequences were used to support the hypothesis that a controversial hummingbird species is a valid, presumably extinct species.

The article, co-authored by Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, an ancient DNA expert and the Museum’s curator of birds, appears today in Biology Letters, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality biology research. The other authors were Christopher Witt of the Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico, Jimmy McGuire of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California and Gary Graves of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

The study documents the validity of a hummingbird species that was controversial because it has not been seen in the wild since it was originally collected a century ago. The research provides a more complete picture of the evolution of this popular group. It also demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining DNA from nearly microscopic tissue samples from even the smallest of birds, paving the way for similar work in the future.

The scientists used DNA sequence data from a unique 100-year-old holotype, a museum specimen that was designated as the basis of the first published description of the Bogota sunangel (Heliangelus zusii). Because biologists had not observed the H. zussi in nature it was not known whether this species was already rare when first discovered and is now extinct, or whether it represented unusual individuals or hybrids of other species.

Comparing the ancient DNA data from the holotype to DNA sequences from 95 hummingbird species, the study demonstrated that H. zussi is genetically well-differentiated from all potential hybrid parental species. The scientists infer that the species lived between the upper tropical and temperate zones of the northern Andes and was most likely driven to extinction by deforestation, resulting from human population growth during the 19th and 20th centuries.

This study is one of the first to use DNA tests of very old museum specimens to establish the loss of a species. More and more museums are moving in this direction, however. Kirchman notes that this research increases the value of the specimen collections at the State Museum, which date back to 1836 and include iconic, historically extinct species.

“What specimen collector a century ago could have known that we’d be able to do this type of DNA testing and get so much information from the skins that they prepared?” asked Kirchman. “We who continue to collect and prepare specimens cannot know what questions will be addressed with our specimens 100 or 200 years from now.”

In his research on birds, Kirchman uses DNA sequencing technology to examine genetic differences among populations and species. Most of his work has focused on populations of birds that are isolated on oceanic islands, and recently he has focused on habitat islands on mountain tops, including the Catskills and Adirondacks.

An Albany resident, Kirchman has an undergraduate degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master’s degree from Louisiana University, and a doctorate degree in zoology from the University of Florida where he studied under Dr. David Steadman, the State Museum’s former curator of birds.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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