{"id":277132,"date":"2021-06-28T13:07:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T13:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciblogs.co.nz\/?p=277132"},"modified":"2022-08-17T21:21:16","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T21:21:16","slug":"from-aptornis-to-zosterops-what-can-be-done-about-an-extinction-crisis-50000-years-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/2021\/06\/28\/from-aptornis-to-zosterops-what-can-be-done-about-an-extinction-crisis-50000-years-in-the-making\/","title":{"rendered":"From Aptornis to Zosterops: What can be done about an extinction crisis 50,000 years in the making?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conservation comes down to values. Do we only focus on the charismatic animals and the things we can see, or do we conserve the out-of-sight, out-of-mind Lilliputs? If that world collapses, you can be sure ours is next.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m standing in the basement of our National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa surrounded by the ghostly remains of New Zealand\u2019s bygone bird fauna.<\/p>\n

Around me are row upon row of subfossil bones of\u00a0giant moa<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0tiny wrens<\/a>. Vividly preserved bird skins stare at me with vacant eyes as if awaiting word to stand up as sentinels to the currently unfolding biodiversity crisis, like those in\u00a0Bill Hammond\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0famous birdman paintings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A long time ago in a galaxy, far, far away: The South American Macrauchenia<\/span> is just one of the enigmatic South American megafauna that went extinct around 12,000 years ago.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walk into any museum worldwide and you will meet other ambassadors of the extinction club. Some are well known like the\u00a0woolly mammoth<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0dire wolf<\/a>\u00a0of Game of Thrones fame. Others you probably have not been introduced to such as the\u00a0Balearic Islands cave goat<\/a>\u00a0or the South American\u00a0Macrauchenia<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 an enigmatic mammal that looks like it escaped from the set of Star Wars.<\/p>\n

What all these animals have in common is that they have been unceremoniously booted off this mortal coil into extinction during a biodiversity crisis that started around 50,000 years ago\u2026and is only getting worse.<\/p>\n

The causes of these widespread biodiversity losses, referred to as the Late Quaternary extinctions, is one of the biggest questions facing humanity. To be or not to be? Were the extinctions caused by climate change or human impact?<\/p>\n

There are commonly said to have been five\u00a0mass extinction events<\/a>\u00a0in geological history, the most recent of those being the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that killed off the non-avian dinosaurs, and gave rise to the age of mammals. Mass extinctions are defined as the loss of at least three-quarters of all species on earth in a short space of geological time. The causes of these extinction events are often controversial. Was it a\u00a0meteor<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0volcanism<\/a>\u00a0that caused the demise of the dinosaurs, or something more outlandish?<\/p>\n

The extinctions over the past 50,000 years are no less controversial and have resulted in very heated debates between archaeologists and palaeontologists at conferences. The extinctions occurred worldwide across a large swathe of biodiversity from birds to mammals and reptiles, regardless of size. As to their causes, climate change and human impact, or a combination of the two, are the\u00a0main suspects<\/a>, but there are some far-fetched theories too:\u00a0hyper-disease<\/a>,\u00a0comet impact<\/a>, and a\u00a0partial collapse of earth\u2019s magnetic poles<\/a>\u00a0(see John Hawk\u2019s\u00a0Twitter feed<\/a>\u00a0for a wonderful critique of this theory). The trouble for the jury is that faunal extinctions often occur during periods of major climatic change just as humans also arrive on the scene, so it\u2019s difficult to completely decouple these.<\/p>\n

Fossil and ancient DNA data are repeatedly showing that, for the majority of prehistoric ecosystems, rather than a single factor causing faunal extinctions, biodiversity on the whole had\u00a0individualistic responses<\/a>\u00a0to climate change and human impact. No One Ring to rule them all here.<\/p>\n

In Europe,\u00a0cave bears<\/a>\u00a0went extinct around 27,000 years ago as they were pushed into ice-free refugia and outcompeted by pesky humans wanting prime cave real estate. Meanwhile, in the Americas, the extinctions\u00a0occurred around 12,000 years ago<\/a>\u00a0at the end of the last Ice Age when the climate warmed and humans discovered the New World. While\u00a0plant communities<\/a>\u00a0may have recovered, faunal communities did not. Goodbye\u00a0horses<\/a>,\u00a0saber-tooth cats<\/a>, and\u00a0giant short-faced bears<\/a>\u00a0that made the three bears in Goldilocks look comparatively tame. In contrast, large-scale environmental changes in\u00a0Southeast Asia<\/a>\u00a0seem to have driven extinctions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I come from the land down under: Australia\u2019s evolutionary experiment resulted in a unique ecosystem ruled by titans such as the giant monitor lizard Megalania<\/span> that snacked on feathered Genyornis<\/span>. Artwork by Peter Trusler.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Australians, always up for a good fight, have decided the jury is still out as to what sealed the fate of their\u00a0demon ducks of doom<\/a>,\u00a0land crocodiles<\/a>, and\u00a0giant kangaroos<\/a>. Frankly, there is just not enough evidence yet \u2013 the Australian record has yet to be dated extensively enough. Within the past few years, researchers have suggested the extinctions were due to\u00a0human impact<\/a>, while others have suggested regional\u00a0increases in aridity and environmental change<\/a>, to a combination of\u00a0climatic and human<\/a>\u00a0causes.<\/p>\n

The exception to these lively debates seems to be\u00a0island faunas<\/a>. Whenever modern humans arrive in pristine island paradises at times of climatic stability, overhunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of mammalian predators have sent these ecosystems into an extinction vortex (cf. the pigmy\u00a0Wrangel Island mammoths<\/a>\u00a0that went extinct around 4,000 years ago in the absence of humans due to low population numbers, inbreeding, and genomic meltdown, like a DNA snowman melting in the sun). In the case of New Zealand, while we know Polynesians caused the\u00a0extinction of nine species of moa<\/a>, we don\u2019t know specifically how they did it \u2013 no archaeological toolkit for moa hunting has been found.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the rapidly accelerating extinctions, up to\u00a010,000 times the background rate<\/a>, that have been occurring since the Industrial Revolution that are truly concerning. There is no debate here. The jury has ruled and we are the cause. Whether the extinctions are due to rapid large-scale environmental modifications, the worldwide spread of mammalian predators (e.g. rats) and other invasive species, or runaway climate change, it\u2019s all on us. The current extinction crisis may not have reached the height of the big five, but it\u2019s certainly on track if nothing is done to stop it.<\/p>\n

The majority of people\u2019s attention has focused on animals and invasive pests we can see. There is a whole Lilliput world out there of the comparatively invisible and mostly ignored critters that we need to think about too.\u00a0Invasive snails<\/a>\u00a0and parasites for example that the general public is not aware of. The endemic\u00a0Christmas Island rat<\/a>\u00a0went extinct due to a parasite that came ashore with introduced rats. The\u00a0New Zealand mud snail<\/a>\u00a0has spread throughout most of the world through shipping, and regularly outcompetes other snails in their native habitats. Closer to home, recent land-use changes have all but sealed the fate of the critically endangered\u00a0Eyrewell beetle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So how do we stop this rapidly accelerating biodiversity crisis? Hate to break it to you but de-extinction is not the answer. While cloning may help to save endangered species \u2013 like the\u00a0black-footed ferret<\/a>\u00a0in the US \u2013 there are potentially insurmountable obstacles to using such technology to bring back extinct species like the\u00a0New Zealand moa<\/a>\u00a0(not to mention a host of ethical quandaries). We shouldn\u2019t let promises of future technology \u2013 which may ultimately be built on sand \u2013 assuage our collective guilt and lull us into apathy about ongoing biodiversity decline in the here-and-now. Once species disappear, it\u2019s very likely they\u2019re gone for good.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The price is right\u2026or is it? Is the potential extinction of the Eyrewell beetle too high a price to pay for making a quick buck?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conservation comes down to values. Do we only focus on the charismatic animals and the things we can see, or do we conserve the out-of-sight, out-of-mind Lilliputs? If that world collapses, you can be sure ours is next. How can you even quantify the scale of the problem when taxonomy,\u00a0the science of naming things<\/a>, is critically underfunded and there is so much biodiversity still to be named. With conservation funding for charismatic animals like the\u00a0hoiho yellow-eyed penguin<\/a>\u00a0being cut<\/a>, what hope is there for less charismatic fauna? It has been hard enough to convince some politicians about the importance of conservation management of the endangered and in my opinion majestically charismatic\u00a0Otago shag<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Oamaru\u2019s Sumpter Wharf<\/a>\u00a0when there are misguided views that shags are stinky seabirds that pollute harbours and destroy the local fishing industry. The conflict between short-term political gain and long-term funding for conservation initiatives needs to be resolved.<\/p>\n

Predator Free 2050<\/a>\u00a0is a good start. This initiative focuses on stoats, possums, and rats, yet ignores mice (currently in the too hard basket), game species (valued by hunters and anglers), and other predators such as cats (strong social opposition). While it is good to focus on some of our iconic terrestrial bird species, our seabirds, lizards, marine mammals, and invertebrates matter too. Likewise, will there be a level of extinction we have to live with as it\u2019s too difficult to stop for some animals? New Zealand is good at exporting its conservation expertise around the world. If we can get it right here, there is hope for the rest of planet Earth. Advances in technology such as new\u00a0genetic tools<\/a>, toxins,\u00a0odour deterrents,<\/a>\u00a0and smart traps, combined with\u00a0community-wide engagement<\/a>\u00a0might help achieve this goal.<\/p>\n

Back in the collections at Te Papa, I\u2019m standing in front of the extinction cabinet filled with the mounted specimens of New Zealand\u2019s recently extinct birds like the\u00a0laughing owl<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0huia<\/a>. While these sentinels have captured the public imagination, I don\u2019t think we need any more added to this exclusive club, do you?<\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Big Q<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conservation comes down to values. Do we only focus on the charismatic animals and the things we can see, or do we conserve the out-of-sight, out-of-mind Lilliputs? If that world collapses, you can be sure ours is next. I\u2019m standing in the basement of our National Museum Te Papa Tongarewa surrounded by the ghostly remains … Continue reading “From Aptornis to Zosterops: What can be done about an extinction crisis 50,000 years in the making?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40066,"featured_media":280678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87395,12254],"tags":[965,87428,87455,87508],"class_list":["post-277132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment-and-ecology","category-science","tag-biodiversity","tag-conservation","tag-extinctions","tag-mass-extinctions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40066"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/lost-worlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}