CONSERVATION BIOLOGY OF AN ENDEMIC SONGBIRD AND ITS PRIMARY BREEDING HABITAT: AN INVESTIGATION INTO HABITAT AVAILABILITY, IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AND CONSERVATION GENETICS OF THE ENDANGERED BAHAMA ORIOLE

Abstract

The world is currently facing a global biodiversity crisis in response to human activity and climate change, with island endemic species among those most vulnerable to extinction. The Caribbean region, recognized as a biodiversity "hotspot”, is among the parts of the world most threatened by climate change – particularly with regards to sea-level rise and hurricanes. The Bahama Oriole is an endangered and endemic songbird found only on the island complex of Andros in The Bahamas. Contributing to the vulnerability of this species is its association with the rare and endemic Caribbean pine rockland forest – a geographically restricted habitat. While the previous conservation status of this species was based on limited information, this research aims to consider recent discoveries and better assess the vulnerability of this species and guide future management efforts. As such, this dissertations addresses three main components that are critical to the conservation of this species: current habitat availability (including rates and drivers of habitat loss), future habitat availability in response to climate change (specifically hurricanes), and genetic diversity. Using remote sensing and machine learning, I determined that there is an extensive amount of available habitat (Caribbean pine) on Andros and that forest loss is rare and driven largely by human activity, with understory fire posing little to no threat at their current frequency and intensity. I then demonstrated the vulnerability of this habitat to extreme hurricane events by mapping the impacts of Hurricane Dorian on the pine forests of the neighboring island of Abaco. Finally, to determine the genetic vulnerability of the Bahama Oriole, I sequenced DNA at three different genomic regions including the maternally inherited mitochondrial control region, SLC9 on the sex-linked Z-chromosome, and the autosomal RDP2. Results of this analysis suggest that the Bahama Oriole is not very genetically vulnerable, with moderate genetic diversity and no evidence of population structure. Collectively, the information gained through this dissertations supports the current status of endangered for the Bahama Oriole, while providing critical insight to future conservation action, such as the reintroduction of the Bahama Oriole to Abaco.