Ancient DNA and conservation: lessons from the endangered kiwi of New Zealand

Conservation genetics typically seeks to map the distribution of contemporary genetic variation across space, and to use the resulting genetic parameters to infer any likely short-term evolutionary consequences for rare and endangered species. Recent developments in the study of ancient DNA now enable the extension of genetic variation studies backwards in time and provide a context by which to interpret contemporary levels of genetic variation, in addition to any patterns of genetic change over time. Ancient DNA research can also help to determine past levels of genetic diversity, identify species' boundaries and reveal former ranges among morphologically cryptic taxa. Ancient DNA sequence data for the New Zealand kiwi (Apteryx spp.) are presented and we show that most ancient populations of rowi and tokoeka exhibited private mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Moreover, we illustrate that the extinction of these populations has led to the loss of considerable genetic variation. We also use ancient DNA methodology to determine past species distributions for brown kiwi and great spotted kiwi whose bones are morphologically indistinguishable.