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Verry AJF, Lubbe P, Mitchell KJ, Rawlence NJ. Thirty years of ancient DNA and the faunal biogeography of Aotearoa New Zealand: lessons and future directions. J R Soc N Z 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2022.2093227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J. F. Verry
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Université de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Pascale Lubbe
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Kieren J. Mitchell
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Nicolas J. Rawlence
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Valente L, Etienne RS, Garcia-R JC. Deep Macroevolutionary Impact of Humans on New Zealand's Unique Avifauna. Curr Biol 2020; 29:2563-2569.e4. [PMID: 31386837 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Islands are at the frontline of the anthropogenic extinction crisis [1]. A vast number of island birds have gone extinct since human colonization [2], and an important proportion is currently threatened with extinction [3]. While the number of lost or threatened avian species has often been quantified [4], the macroevolutionary consequences of human impact on island biodiversity have rarely been measured [5]. Here, we estimate the amount of evolutionary time that has been lost or is under threat due to anthropogenic activity in a classic example, New Zealand. Half of its bird taxa have gone extinct since humans arrived [6, 7] and many are threatened [8], including lineages forming highly distinct branches in the avian tree of life [9-11]. Using paleontological and ancient DNA information, we compiled a dated phylogenetic dataset for New Zealand's terrestrial avifauna. We extend the method DAISIE developed for island biogeography [12] to allow for the fact that many of New Zealand's birds are evolutionarily isolated and use it to estimate natural rates of speciation, extinction, and colonization. Simulating under a range of human-induced extinction scenarios, we find that it would take approximately 50 million years (Ma) to recover the number of species lost since human colonization of New Zealand and up to 10 Ma to return to today's species numbers if currently threatened species go extinct. This study puts into macroevolutionary perspective the impact of humans in an isolated fauna and reveals how conservation decisions we take today will have repercussions for millions of years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Valente
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Understanding Evolution Group, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands; University of Groningen, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Rampal S Etienne
- University of Groningen, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Juan C Garcia-R
- Hopkirk Research Institute, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Private Bag, 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
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Peltzer DA, Bellingham PJ, Dickie IA, Houliston G, Hulme PE, Lyver PO, McGlone M, Richardson SJ, Wood J. Scale and complexity implications of making New Zealand predator-free by 2050. J R Soc N Z 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2019.1653940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ian A. Dickie
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | | | - Philip E. Hulme
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand
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Mitochondrial Genomes from New Zealand’s Extinct Adzebills (Aves: Aptornithidae: Aptornis) Support a Sister-Taxon Relationship with the Afro-Madagascan Sarothruridae. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11020024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The recently extinct New Zealand adzebills (Aptornithidae, Aptornis spp.) were an enigmatic group of large flightless birds that have long eluded precise taxonomic assignment as they do not closely resemble any extant birds. Adzebills were nearly wingless, weighed approximately 16–19 kg, and possessed massive adze-like reinforced bills whose function remains unknown. Using hybridisation enrichment and high-throughput sequencing of DNA extracted from subfossil bone and eggshell, near-complete mitochondrial genomes were successfully assembled from the two Quaternary adzebill species: the North Island Adzebill (Aptornis otidiformis) and South Island Adzebill (A. defossor). Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm that adzebills are members of the Ralloidea (rails and allies) and are sister-taxon to the Sarothruridae, which our results suggest comprises the Madagascan wood rails (Mentocrex, two likely sp.) in addition to the tiny (<50 gram) rail-like Afro-Madagascan flufftails (Sarothrura, 9 spp.). Node age estimates indicate that the split between adzebills and Sarothruridae occurred ~39.6 Ma, suggesting that the ancestors of the adzebills arrived in New Zealand by long-distance dispersal rather than continental vicariance. This newly identified biogeographic link between physically distant New Zealand and Afro-Madagascar, echoed by the relationship between the New Zealand kiwi (Apterygiformes) and Madagascan elephant-birds (Aepyornithiformes), suggests that the adzebill’s near relatives were formerly more widespread. In addition, our estimate for the divergence time between the two Quaternary adzebill species (0.2–2.3 Ma) coincides with the emergence of a land-bridge between the North and South islands of New Zealand (ca. 1.5–2 Ma). This relatively recent divergence suggests that North Island adzebills are the result of a relatively recent dispersal from the South Island, from which the earliest (Miocene) adzebill fossil has been described.
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Cole TL, Rawlence NJ, Dussex N, Ellenberg U, Houston DM, Mattern T, Miskelly CM, Morrison KW, Scofield RP, Tennyson AJD, Thompson DR, Wood JR, Waters JM. Ancient DNA of crested penguins: Testing for temporal genetic shifts in the world's most diverse penguin clade. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018; 131:72-79. [PMID: 30367976 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Human impacts have substantially reduced avian biodiversity in many parts of the world, particularly on isolated islands of the Pacific Ocean. The New Zealand archipelago, including its five subantarctic island groups, holds breeding grounds for a third of the world's penguin species, including several representatives of the diverse crested penguin genus Eudyptes. While this species-rich genus has been little studied genetically, recent population estimates indicate that several Eudyptes taxa are experiencing demographic declines. Although crested penguins are currently limited to southern regions of the New Zealand archipelago, prehistoric fossil and archaeological deposits suggest a wider distribution during prehistoric times, with breeding ranges perhaps extending to the North Island. Here, we analyse ancient, historic and modern DNA sequences to explore two hypotheses regarding the recent history of Eudyptes in New Zealand, testing for (1) human-driven extinction of Eudyptes lineages; and (2) reduced genetic diversity in surviving lineages. From 83 prehistoric bone samples, each tentatively identified as 'Eudyptes spp.', we genetically identified six prehistoric penguin taxa from mainland New Zealand, including one previously undescribed genetic lineage. Moreover, our Bayesian coalescent analyses indicated that, while the range of Fiordland crested penguin (E. pachyrhynchus) may have contracted markedly over the last millennium, genetic DNA diversity within this lineage has remained relatively constant. This result contrasts with human-driven biodiversity reductions previously detected in several New Zealand coastal vertebrate taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa L Cole
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, Canterbury 7640, New Zealand.
| | - Nicolas J Rawlence
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Nicolas Dussex
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Ursula Ellenberg
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; Global Penguin Society, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - David M Houston
- Biodiversity Group, Department of Conservation, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Thomas Mattern
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; Global Penguin Society, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Colin M Miskelly
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, PO Box 467, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | | | - R Paul Scofield
- Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch 8001, New Zealand
| | - Alan J D Tennyson
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, PO Box 467, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - David R Thompson
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Private Bag 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand
| | - Jamie R Wood
- Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, Canterbury 7640, New Zealand
| | - Jonathan M Waters
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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