New research has identified the extent to which human colonization and hunting contributed to the extinction of New Zealand’s giant flightless bird, the moa.
For an article published in Science of the Total Environment, the research team used fossils and detailed computer modeling to reconstruct how six species of moa disappeared and whether their extinctions were avoidable.
Lead researcher Dr. Sean Tomlinson, from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, who completed this research while at the University of Adelaide, said the study shows that extinctions of moa were caused by frequent harvesting of birds and their eggs by people.
“Arrival of people in New Zealand more than 600 years ago caused one of the largest and most rapid losses of native species across the Pacific. The iconic moa were giant, flightless birds that disappeared within 100 to 300 years after human arrival,” Dr. Tomlinson said.
“Using information from fossils and high-performance computing, we show that these extinctions were likely to have been an unavoidable consequence of human colonization of New Zealand.
“Our modeling suggests that the only way moa could have co-existed with humans is if large ‘no-take’ harvest zones had covered more than 50% of New Zealand’s land area. This would have been extremely difficult to implement given the social structures of Polynesian colonists, and their reliance on wild food sources, particularly in southern New Zealand.”
Co-author Associate Professor Damien Fordham, from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute, said that although it’s too late for moa, these insights provide valuable lessons to conserve and protect today’s endangered large bodied species.
“Our findings suggest that today’s large, flightless birds, such as kiwi and cassowary, probably require much bigger conservation areas that include pristine habitats that are least impacted by humanity,” Dr. Fordham said.
“This new research shows that extinct species can offer crucial insights to help guide conservation efforts for New Zealand’s remaining flightless birds.”
More information:
Sean Tomlinson et al, Was extinction of New Zealand’s avian megafauna an unavoidable consequence of human arrival?, Science of The Total Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178471
Citation:
Moa extinction: Human colonization sealed fate of New Zealand’s giants, study shows (2025, February 11)
