Invader or resident? Ancient-DNA reveals rapid species turnover in New Zealand little penguins

The expansion of humans into previously unoccupied parts of the globe is thought to have driven the decline and extinction of numerous vertebrate species. In New Zealand, human settlement in the late thirteenth century AD led to the rapid demise of a distinctive vertebrate fauna, and also a number o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2016-02, Vol.283 (1824), p.20152879
Main Authors: Grosser, Stefanie, Rawlence, Nicolas J., Anderson, Christian N. K., Smith, Ian W. G., Scofield, R. Paul, Waters, Jonathan M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient-Dna
Animal Distribution
Animals
Biodiversity
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Extinction
Fossils
Molecular Sequence Data
New Zealand
Penguins
Phylogeny
Radiometric Dating
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Species Turnover
Spheniscidae - genetics
Spheniscidae - physiology
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Summary:The expansion of humans into previously unoccupied parts of the globe is thought to have driven the decline and extinction of numerous vertebrate species. In New Zealand, human settlement in the late thirteenth century AD led to the rapid demise of a distinctive vertebrate fauna, and also a number of 'turnover' events where extinct lineages were subsequently replaced by closely related taxa. The recent genetic detection of an Australian little penguin (Eudyptula novaehollandiae) in southeastern New Zealand may potentially represent an additional ‘cryptic’ invasion. Here we use ancient-DNA (aDNA) analysis and radiocarbon dating of pre-human, archaeological and historical Eudyptula remains to reveal that the arrival of E. novaehollandiae in New Zealand probably occurred between AD 1500 and 1900, following the anthropogenic decline of its sister taxon, the endemic Eudyptula minor. This rapid turnover event, revealed by aDNA, suggests that native species decline can be masked by invasive taxa, and highlights the potential for human-mediated biodiversity shifts.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2015.2879