From Brobdingnagians to Lilliputians: reconstructing prehistoric New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand has been described as the closest thing to studying life on another planet. Yet the animals that survived the arrival of humans are only a fraction of the wide and varied menagerie that originally called these lonely isles home. While we may think we know what prehistoric New Zealand looked like and how this ecosystem functioned, new ancient DNA and palaeontological techniques have revolutionised our understanding of this lost world. I will take you on a journey, showing how my lab’s latest research is adding new and exciting chapters to the biological heritage of Aotearoa’s living and extinct taonga species, and how they have adapted to our dynamic geological, climatic, and human history.
Presented by Nic Rawlence on April 24 2024.