Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna
As a direct result of human activity and other environmental changes, considerable ecological changes and species extinctions have occurred on most terrestrial environments during the last 50,000 years. Therefore, correctly interpreting naturally occurring biogeography or ecology is limited without...
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ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/106723 2023-05-15T13:31:58+02:00 Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna Boast, Alexander Peter Cooper, Alan Wood, Jamie Weyrich, Laura S. School of Biological Sciences 2016 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2440/106723 https://doi.org/10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/2440/106723 doi:10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 ancient DNA Moa Dinornithiformes Adzebill Aptornis paleoecology coprolites New Zealand Research by Publication Theses 2016 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 2023-02-06T07:18:29Z As a direct result of human activity and other environmental changes, considerable ecological changes and species extinctions have occurred on most terrestrial environments during the last 50,000 years. Therefore, correctly interpreting naturally occurring biogeography or ecology is limited without including historical information. Detailed insights into past environments or extinct species can be provided by ancient DNA (aDNA), yet this field has long been limited by the degraded nature of ancient genetic material. Recent developments and the increasing availability of next-generation sequencing (NGS), is now allowing for a breakthrough in aDNA studies. It is now possible to obtain entire genomes from long-extinct organisms, and sequence high-depth ‘environmental DNA’ representative of prehistoric environments. New Zealand (NZ) was the last of the large landmasses (except Antarctica) to be colonised by humans, approximately 700 years ago. Furthermore, the long isolation of NZ from Gondwana (from which it separated between ~85-52 Ma) resulted in an ancient, ecologically complex and biogeographically unique biota. Due to a near-absence of mammals this biota was dominated by a diverse array of endemic bird species, of which nearly 50% are now extinct due to human activity. Nonetheless, the recent age of NZ’s extinctions, combined with a temperate climate, has permitted an unparalleled degree of preservation of the pre-human ecosystem. By use of aDNA and NGS methods, NZ’s biota may now be understood in relative completion. This thesis uses aDNA NGS methods to research a select number extinct bird species. Chapters Two and Three investigate environmental DNA of avian coprolites (paleofaeces), most of which originate from four species of the megaherbivore ratite moa (Dinornithiformes). It is identified for the first time that the extinct moa consumed and dispersed species of mycorrhizal fungi important in natural forest dynamics. Phylogenetics of sequenced moa parasite DNA found rare evidence for a higher taxonomic ... Thesis Antarc* Antarctica The University of Adelaide: Digital Library Moa ENVELOPE(157.950,157.950,-80.767,-80.767) New Zealand |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Adelaide: Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivadelaidedl |
language |
unknown |
topic |
ancient DNA Moa Dinornithiformes Adzebill Aptornis paleoecology coprolites New Zealand Research by Publication |
spellingShingle |
ancient DNA Moa Dinornithiformes Adzebill Aptornis paleoecology coprolites New Zealand Research by Publication Boast, Alexander Peter Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
topic_facet |
ancient DNA Moa Dinornithiformes Adzebill Aptornis paleoecology coprolites New Zealand Research by Publication |
description |
As a direct result of human activity and other environmental changes, considerable ecological changes and species extinctions have occurred on most terrestrial environments during the last 50,000 years. Therefore, correctly interpreting naturally occurring biogeography or ecology is limited without including historical information. Detailed insights into past environments or extinct species can be provided by ancient DNA (aDNA), yet this field has long been limited by the degraded nature of ancient genetic material. Recent developments and the increasing availability of next-generation sequencing (NGS), is now allowing for a breakthrough in aDNA studies. It is now possible to obtain entire genomes from long-extinct organisms, and sequence high-depth ‘environmental DNA’ representative of prehistoric environments. New Zealand (NZ) was the last of the large landmasses (except Antarctica) to be colonised by humans, approximately 700 years ago. Furthermore, the long isolation of NZ from Gondwana (from which it separated between ~85-52 Ma) resulted in an ancient, ecologically complex and biogeographically unique biota. Due to a near-absence of mammals this biota was dominated by a diverse array of endemic bird species, of which nearly 50% are now extinct due to human activity. Nonetheless, the recent age of NZ’s extinctions, combined with a temperate climate, has permitted an unparalleled degree of preservation of the pre-human ecosystem. By use of aDNA and NGS methods, NZ’s biota may now be understood in relative completion. This thesis uses aDNA NGS methods to research a select number extinct bird species. Chapters Two and Three investigate environmental DNA of avian coprolites (paleofaeces), most of which originate from four species of the megaherbivore ratite moa (Dinornithiformes). It is identified for the first time that the extinct moa consumed and dispersed species of mycorrhizal fungi important in natural forest dynamics. Phylogenetics of sequenced moa parasite DNA found rare evidence for a higher taxonomic ... |
author2 |
Cooper, Alan Wood, Jamie Weyrich, Laura S. School of Biological Sciences |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Boast, Alexander Peter |
author_facet |
Boast, Alexander Peter |
author_sort |
Boast, Alexander Peter |
title |
Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
title_short |
Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
title_full |
Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
title_fullStr |
Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ancient DNA of New Zealand's extinct avifauna |
title_sort |
ancient dna of new zealand's extinct avifauna |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/106723 https://doi.org/10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(157.950,157.950,-80.767,-80.767) |
geographic |
Moa New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
Moa New Zealand |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/106723 doi:10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4225/55/598aad60ddb23 |
_version_ |
1766023285964800000 |