What Moa Extinction Teaches Us About Conservation Today

Image: Paul Martinson/Te Papa (2006-0010-1/17)

Deputy Director of the Environment Institute, Professor Damien Fordham, has contributed to groundbreaking insights examining the impact of human settlement and hunting on the extinction of New Zealand’s giant flightless birds, the moa.

Using computer modelling and fossil evidence, Fordham and his team reconstructed how six moa species vanished and explored whether their extinctions could have been prevented.

The study, titled, "Was extinction of New Zealand's avian megafauna an unavoidable consequence of human arrival?", published in Science of the Total Environment, reveals that frequent harvesting of moa and their eggs by early human settlers likely made their extinction unavoidable. The findings suggest that only large-scale protected areas, covering more than 50% of New Zealand’s land, could have allowed the species to survive, a scenario that would have been difficult given the reliance of Polynesian colonists on wild food sources.

This research has provided greater methods to better protect today's larger body endangered species. In particular, this research serves as a guide for conservation practices for the remaining flightless birds in New Zealand, such as the cassowary and kiwi. 

More information:

• To read the study, click here
• Comos Magazine
• Curtin University

The paper was co-authored by researchers from the University of Adelaide, State University of New York, Australian National University, University of Auckland, and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.