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Published in , the research team used fossils and detailed computer modelling to reconstruct how six species of moa disappeared and whether their extinctions were avoidable.

Lead researcher Dr Sean Tomlinson, from Curtin鈥檚 School of Molecular and Life Sciences, who completed this research while at the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide, said the research shows that extinctions of moa were caused by frequent harvesting of birds and their eggs by people.

鈥淎rrival of people in New Zealand more than 600 years ago caused one of the largest and most rapid losses of native species across the Pacific. The iconic moa were giant, flightless birds that disappeared within 100 to 300 years after human arrival,鈥� Dr Tomlinson said.

鈥淯sing information from fossils and high-performance computing, we show that these extinctions were likely to have been an unavoidable consequence of human colonisation of New Zealand.

鈥淥ur modelling suggests that the only way moa could have co-existed with humans is if large 鈥榥o-take鈥� harvest zones had covered more than 50 per cent of New Zealand鈥檚 land area. This would have been extremely difficult to implement given the social 杏吧直播 of Polynesian colonists, and their reliance on wild food sources, particularly in southern New Zealand.鈥�

Co-author Associate Professor Damien Fordham, from the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 Environment Institute, said that although it鈥檚 too late for moa, these insights provide valuable lessons to conserve and protect today鈥檚 endangered large bodied species.

鈥淥ur findings suggest that today鈥檚 large, flightless birds, such as kiwi and cassowary, probably require much bigger conservation areas that include pristine habitats that are least impacted by humanity,鈥� Dr Fordham said.

鈥淭his new research shows that extinct species can offer crucial insights to help guide conservation efforts for New Zealand鈥檚 remaining flightless birds.鈥�

The paper, titled Was extinction of New Zealand鈥檚 avian megafauna an unavoidable consequence of human arrival鈥� was co-authored by researchers from the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide, State 杏吧直播 of New York, 杏吧直播n National 杏吧直播, 杏吧直播 of Auckland, and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.