DNA from ancient eastern moa bones is unlocking the secrets of their survival during the last ice age, and providing lessons for today’s threatened species.
- Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago
Biologists have used ancient DNA, preserved in fossil bones for millennia, to study the evolution of large species, but now they can employ it to study small animals like lizards and frogs.
An Australian company’s plan to mine a fossil-rich site in New Zealand to produce pig food has been described as unjustifiable vandalism. A campaign is under way to protect the site in perpetuity.
Taxonomists are becoming as rare as some of the species they work on, and this puts museum collections and conservation efforts under threat and increases the risk of biosecurity incursions.
New research reveals that New Zealand once had its own species of black swan, the Poūwa.
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