Why is the tri-state flock not considered a distinct population segment?
Historically, trumpeter swans ranged throughout much of Canada and the U.S. There is no evidence that the birds in the tri-state flock have been isolated from other groups of swans for a sufficient period of time for adaptations to occur and make this group a discrete and significant population. Current genetic information does not provide evidence that the birds in the tri-state area are genetically different from trumpeter swans in western Canada. Morphology and behaviors of the two groups also are similar. The tri-state flock has historic and sociological importance; but the flock is not significant from an evolutionary standpoint, and that must be a criterion used to deemed distinct population segment. Are there a lot fewer birds in the tri-state area than there were historically? Migratory birds generally were not monitored prior to the early 1900s. We don’t know how many birds inhabited the tri-state area before then. In the early 1930s only about 70 birds were counted in the are
