10.5061/DRYAD.SS0K19Q
Seersholm, Frederik V.
Curtin University
Cole, Theresa L.
Landcare Research
Grealy, Alicia
Curtin University
Rawlence, Nicolas J.
University of Otago
Greig, Karen
University of Otago
Knapp, Michael
University of Otago
Stat, Michael
Macquarie University
Hansen, Anders J.
University of Copenhagen
Easton, Luke J.
University of Otago
Shepherd, Lara
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Tennyson, Alan J. D.
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Scofield, R. Paul
Canterbury Museum
Walter, Richard
University of Otago
Bunce, Michael
Curtin University
Data from: Subsistence practices, past biodiversity, and anthropogenic
impacts revealed by New Zealand-wide ancient DNA survey
Dryad
dataset
2019
Subsistence practices
Bulk bone metabarcoding
Maori
Holocene
2019-06-19T00:00:00Z
2019-06-19T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803573115
197889 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
New Zealand’s geographic isolation, lack of native terrestrial mammals,
and Gondwanan origins make it an ideal location to study evolutionary
processes. However, since the archipelago was first settled by humans (c.
1280 AD), its unique biodiversity has been under pressure, and today an
estimated 49% of the terrestrial avifauna is extinct. Current efforts to
conserve the remaining fauna rely on a better understanding of the
composition of past ecosystems, as well as the causes and timing of past
extinctions. The exact temporal and spatial dynamics of New Zealand’s
extinct fauna, however, can be difficult to interpret, as only a small
proportion of animals are preserved as morphologically identifiable
fossils. Here, we conduct the first large-scale genetic survey of
sub-fossil bone assemblages to elucidate the impact of humans on the
environment in New Zealand. By genetically identifying over 5000
non-diagnostic bone fragments from archaeological and palaeontological
sites, we reconstruct a rich faunal record of 111 species of birds, fish,
reptiles, amphibians, and marine mammals. We report evidence of five whale
species rarely reported from New Zealand archaeological middens, and
characterise new extinct lineages of leiopelmatid frog (Leiopelma sp.) and
kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) haplotypes lost from the gene pool. Taken
together, this molecular audit of New Zealand’s sub-fossil record not only
contributes to our understanding of past biodiversity and pre-contact
Māori subsistence practices, but also provides a more nuanced snapshot of
anthropogenic impacts on native fauna following first human arrival.
Seersholm2018_NZ_BBMObitools style filtered OTUs, assigned to the lowest
possible taxonomic node based Blast hits. Reads with a best hit below 95%
similarity to the database have not been assigned to a node
(taxon_name=NA).
New Zealand