The World of the Moa

Moa specialist Dr Richard Holdaway has received a Marsden grant to study North Canterbury moa fossils, using the very latest in biological technologies. The study will throw new light on whether the moa population that existed before human settlement was stable or declining.
 
In the late 1930s, a remarkable deposit of moa bones was found at Pyramid Valley swamp in North Canterbury. Sixty five years later, but only 5 km away, an equally impressive collection was discovered beneath Bell Hill Vineyard. These two swamps trapped birds of all ages, and included at least four species of moa from a period extending back 4000 years.

Until now, the remains have been studied mainly through anatomical examination of bones, but the recent development of new techniques has meant that moa research has been undergoing a major revival. Ancient DNA research has already shown that there were two species of giant moa in New Zealand, and that the females were nearly twice as large as the males.

Using the latest methods, a multi-disciplinary, international team led by Dr Holdaway from Palaecol Research Ltd will use techniques in genetics, biochemistry, and physics to discover new secrets of both the moa and the pre-human ecological world they inhabited. The team will aim to answer a variety of questions about the moa of the region: what did they eat?  Did their diet change with age? Did they live in family groups?  How large were their populations? And did their numbers begin to decline before humans settled New Zealand?

The researchers will use three main techniques to study the moa and the ecosystems they inhabited: radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA analysis, and stable isotope analysis. Radiocarbon dating will allow the ages of the bones to be determined. The DNA data will identify the species of the moa bones, their sex, estimates of population sizes, and family relationships, including whether moa populations were stable or declining before human arrival. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data will provide insights into the diet and habitat of each moa species.

This study will provide new and exciting information on the biology of one of New Zealand’s most interesting group of extinct birds, and the world they inhabited.

Total Funding:    $825,000
Researchers:    Dr Richard Holdaway, Palaecol Research Ltd, Christchurch
Dr Michael Bunce, Murdoch University, Perth, WA
Professor Eske Willerslev, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Associates:    Dr David Hawke, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Dr Nancy Beavan Athfield, Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS
Professor Don McFarlane, Keck Science Centre, Claremont Colleges, Los Angeles