{"id":150314,"date":"2025-12-18T10:13:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T15:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=150314"},"modified":"2026-03-30T20:51:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T00:51:35","slug":"ucf-study-confirms-flamingos-are-native-to-florida-and-genetically-fit-for-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-study-confirms-flamingos-are-native-to-florida-and-genetically-fit-for-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Study Confirms Flamingos Are Native to Florida and Genetically Fit for Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

For all its presence on postcards and popular tourist attractions, the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber<\/em>) has been largely absent from Florida itself. Nearly wiped out from the state in the early 1900s, the species has shown only faint signs of a true comeback.<\/p>\n

Now, a new study published in the American Ornithological Society\u2019s Ornithological Applications<\/em> journal details how researchers from UCF\u2019s Department of Biology<\/a> and colleagues analyzed the genetic variability, population structure and viable conservation strategies for Florida\u2019s American flamingo.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a native Floridian who grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, I was fascinated and a little surprised to see the flamingo as a prominent state icon, yet I had never seen one in the wild,\u201d says Jessica Folsom \u201923MS<\/strong>, who led the study while earning her master\u2019s degree in biology<\/a> at UCF.<\/p>\n

The Flamingo’s Lost History<\/h3>\n

Flamingos were nearly extirpated in Florida due to hunting and habitat loss. While later sightings suggested possible natural recolonization, many of the birds were thought to be escapees from zoos or other captive populations rather than signs of a true restoration.<\/p>\n

Eric Hoffman, professor and chair of UCF\u2019s Department of Biology and a co-author of the study, says the project revealed the depth of what was lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore this project, I wasn\u2019t aware of the historical distribution or how common these birds were in Florida 100 to 150 years ago,\u201d Hoffman says.<\/p>\n

An Unlikely Founding Population<\/h3>\n

Although flamingo populations remain large in regions near Florida, including The Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico, Florida’s first wave of birds originated in an unconventional setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1920s, the owner of a horse racetrack in Hialeah released roughly 20 flamingos, likely sourced from The Bahamas, as a marketing strategy to boost attendance and betting,\u201d Hoffman says. \u201cThe birds thrived in the wetland habitat at the track\u2019s center, forming the founding population for many Florida zoo-held flocks, including Zoo Miami\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Signs Florida Can Still Support Flamingos<\/h3>\n

In recent years, researchers say that flamingos generally fly into Florida from neighboring regions or arrive after hurricanes. Some flocks remain for months \u2014 evidence that Florida\u2019s wetlands can support them \u2014 however, establishing a long-term breeding population remains a primary challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese returning flocks have given us an opportunity to collect contemporary and historical samples to address questions about their genetics and population structure \u2014 a central focus of my lab,\u201d Hoffman says.<\/p>\n

What the Genetics Reveal<\/h3>\n

Folsom, who conducted the research in Hoffman\u2019s lab as a graduate student and now works as a biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says populations that undergo extirpation or steep decline often face consequences such as reduced genetic variability, loss of unique local adaptations or alleles, and, in severe cases, a greater risk of inbreeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Florida, hunting for feathers could have created those conditions,\u201d Folsom says. \u201cHowever, in our study, we found insignificant levels of inbreeding, little loss of genetic variability and minimal differentiation between Florida birds, the birds in Florida zoos, and other populations in the Caribbean and parts of South America.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study included 188 flamingos spanning seven contemporary wild populations \u2014 from Cuba, The Bahamas, Bonaire<\/a>, the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula, Mississippi, the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands and Florida \u2014 as well as managed flocks, or ex-situ, housed in Zoo Miami and Hialeah Park. It also included five historical populations from Cuba, The Bahamas, Mexico, Florida and the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands.<\/p>\n

Because wild Florida specimens are limited, the team used other Caribbean wild populations as genetic proxies. Using whole genome sequencing across more than two million loci \u2014 the fixed positions of genes on a chromosome \u2014 the team analyzed data using bioinformatics software on UCF\u2019s high-performance computing cluster, Stokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our most surprising findings was that modern flamingos showed significant genetic variability compared to historical populations,\u201d Folsom says. \u201cCaptive populations showed the greatest genetic variability and minimal inbreeding, meaning they could be strong candidates for reintroduction. Genetic similarities also indicate flamingos from other regions could adapt well to Florida, with limited risk of outbreeding depression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers emphasize that reintroduction must be paired with policy change.<\/p>\n