Grosser Stefanie, Rawlence Nicolas J, Anderson Christian N K, Smith Ian W G, Scofield R Paul, Waters Jonathan M
Allan Wilson Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Allan Wilson Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Proc Biol Sci. 2016 Feb 10;283(1824). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2879.
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.
人类向全球此前无人居住地区的扩张被认为导致了众多脊椎动物物种的衰退和灭绝。在新西兰，公元13世纪末人类的定居导致了独特脊椎动物群的迅速消亡，以及一些“更替”事件，即灭绝的谱系随后被亲缘关系密切的分类群所取代。最近在新西兰东南部检测到澳大利亚小企鹅（Eudyptula novaehollandiae）的基因，这可能代表了另一起“隐秘”入侵事件。在这里，我们通过对人类出现之前、考古和历史时期的小企鹅遗骸进行古DNA（aDNA）分析和放射性碳年代测定，以揭示新西兰新荷兰小企鹅的到来可能发生在公元1500年至1900年之间，是在其姐妹分类群、本土小企鹅（Eudyptula minor）因人类活动而数量减少之后。古DNA揭示的这一快速更替事件表明，本地物种的衰退可能被入侵分类群所掩盖，并凸显了人类介导的生物多样性变化的可能性。
