Embargoed until:
Publicly released:
2024-07-24 19:00
A trans-Tasman research team has used fossil records, climate simulations, and other data sources to retrace the trajectory of where moa populations declined and ultimately went extinct in Aotearoa. They found the final populations of all six moa species they studied ended up retreating to cold, mountainous areas. The team says these mountainous refugia for the last populations of moa continue to serve as isolated sanctuaries for New Zealand’s remaining flightless birds, providing new insights for conserving these species in the face of current and future threats.
Journal/conference: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Link to research (DOI): 10.1038/s41559-024-02449-x
Organisation/s: The University of Adelaide, The Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, University of Auckland, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
Funder: We acknowledge the importance of indigenous data sovereignty and have ensured that there are no issues of Māori intellectual ownership or mātauranga Māori or of any traditional beliefs with the data and its uses. D.A.F. J.J.A. and M.V.L. acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council (DP180102392).