Human impacts on biodiversity

Successive waves of human arrival in New Zealand had a dramatic impact on biodiversity. This schematic shows the impact of introduced mammalian predators (including humans) on medium-large sized vertebrates – mostly bird species.  

Extinct species include but are not limited to the following:
(a) penguins; (b) shags; (c,k,l) waterfowl including geese, swans and ducks; (d) large flightless moa; (e) eagles; (f) pinnipeds such as rāpoka sea lion and ihupuku southern elephant seals; (g,j,m,p,t) rails; (h) reptiles and frogs; (i) harriers; (n) ravens; (o) shearwaters; (q) snipe; (r) quails; and (s) bitterns. Predators introduced by East Polynesians (1) include Polynesian dog or kurī (2), and Pacific rat or kiore (3); and those introduced by Europeans (4), which included pigs (5), Norway rats (6), cats (7), brushtail possums (8), ship rats (9), and mustelids including ferrets, stoats and weasels (10). 

Schematic from Greig K and Rawlence NJ (2021) The Contribution of Kurī (Polynesian Dog) to the Ecological Impacts of the Human Settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:757988. Doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.757988.

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