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An extremely low-density human population exterminated New Zealand moa

Author

Listed:
  • Richard N. Holdaway

    (Palaecol Research Ltd
    School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury)

  • Morten E. Allentoft

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury
    Centre for Geogenetics, Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen)

  • Christopher Jacomb

    (Southern Pacific Archaeological Research, University of Otago)

  • Charlotte L. Oskam

    (School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University)

  • Nancy R. Beavan

    (School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago)

  • Michael Bunce

    (Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia)

Abstract

New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) are the only late Quaternary megafauna whose extinction was clearly caused by humans. New Zealand offers the best opportunity to estimate the number of people involved in a megafaunal extinction event because, uniquely, both the Polynesian settlement of New Zealand and moa extinction are recent enough to be dated with a high degree of precision. In addition, the founding human population can be estimated from genetic evidence. Here we show that the Polynesian population of New Zealand would not have exceeded 2,000 individuals before extinction of moa populations in the habitable areas of the eastern South Island. During a brief (

Suggested Citation

  • Richard N. Holdaway & Morten E. Allentoft & Christopher Jacomb & Charlotte L. Oskam & Nancy R. Beavan & Michael Bunce, 2014. "An extremely low-density human population exterminated New Zealand moa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms6436
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6436
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