Jamie Wood

Scopula optivata on the bathroom mirror - above and below in one photo!

As someone with a bit of experience in this area, I would argue we still have a very poor understanding of exactly what the ecological functions of moa were. Moreover, SI giant moa seems like the most complex case to start with, as with size differences the sexes could have had different ‘functions’

Historical eDNA unlocks clues of Australia’s wildlife past Innovative new research project aims to shed light on the historical ranges of some of Australia’s most threatened species.

Awesome to be working alongside the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and several other partner organisations on this exciting new project. www.australianwildlife.org/news-and-res...

The first Early Pleistocene (ca 1 Ma) fossil terrestrial vertebrate fauna from a cave in New Zealand reveals substantial avifaunal turnover in the last million years New Zealand has a rich Late Pleistocene–Holocene vertebrate fossil record with numerous sites across the country in dune, cave and wetland deposits, collectively providing detailed knowledge on the...

Wow! An incredible discovery - the first Early Pleistocene fossil terrestrial vertebrate fauna from a cave in New Zealand. Includes a new species of Kākāpō! doi.org/10.1080/0311...

A kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), a large, green, ground-dwelling parrot endemic to the forests of mainland New Zealand. This individual is named "Sirocco". Credit: Chris Birmingham, Department of Conservation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kakapo_Sirocco_1.jpg

Shown here is one of New Zealand's most unique and charismatic parrot species: the kākāpō, threatened with extinction by the introduction of invasive species. But the decline of this parrot also includes the decline of its unique parasites, tracked over almost 800 years.

And of course, not being able to find the attachment because you were instead looking in C:\Users\pbayer\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Olk\Attachments\ooa-6b0f86af-a548-4060-9a83-7d943fcaa440\157ef8591494ef374d2433d75c318962f8bc4054af4a1be24c8e02b89b6d5ec8

Exciting times in the ancient DNA lab today, helping student to sample some very old Australian scats!

Age, depositor and content TBC.

A favourite from my collection of signed natural history books. The inscription pretty much says it all.

Introducing the SeDNAs Members Starter Pack 🧬

Connect with fellow members of the society, grow your eDNA network, and spark new collaborations!

Comment below or message to be added to the pack

go.bsky.app/GBwDbax

The discovery of an extinct shelduck highlights the rich ancient biodiversity of the remote Rēkohu Chatham Islands Many birds on Rēkohu Chatham Islands show how ‘island syndrome’ influences evolution – they are distinct but remain closely related to species on the mainland.

Welcome to the world Rēkohu shelduck. You can check out our #openaccess paper about this new extinct duck from the Chatham Islands here (academic.oup.com/.../article/...) & make sure to read our @aunz.theconversation.com piece theconversation.com/the-discover... 1/4

New Zealand birds never fail to amaze. The extinct Hodgen's rail, thought to be a diminutive relative of the Australian waterhen, turns out instead to be a giant crake!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

📷: Paul Martinson, Te Papa CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Word has got around that we have a new sack of bird seed

The necessity for authentication of ancient DNA from archaeological artefacts The study of ancient DNA (aDNA) has revolutionised the fields of archaeology, human evolution and paleoecology, offering new insights into the past. I…

🧬 📜 New paper alert! 📜 🧬

We review recent literature that use ancient DNA methods in the analysis of archeological artefacts. We hope this will be a useful resource to improve the inclusion of ancient DNA methods into the study of ancient artefacts.

1/🧵

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The necessity for authentication of ancient DNA from archaeological artefacts

url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/6eR1CVARMk...

Ancient DNA and morphometrics reveal a new species of extinct insular shelduck from Rēkohu Chatham Islands Abstract. The Rēkohu Chatham Islands, 785 km east of mainland Aotearoa New Zealand, exhibit high levels of species endemism. Prior to human settlement, the

Ancient DNA and morphometrics reveal a new species of extinct insular shelduck from Rēkohu Chatham Islands

For open access url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/4Ej0C4QO0q...

Long-term parasite decline associated with near extinction and conservation of the critically endangered kākāpō parrot Boast et al. analyze a unique fecal record of the endangered kākāpō parrot to reveal >800 years of changing parasite communities. Parasite losses occur during the species’ decline to near extinction a...

Parasite extinctions in threatened species may be far more prevalent than previous estimates suggest. Our new study of kākāpō dung spanning from ~1,500 years ago to present, finds >80% of parasite species were lost as the host species declined.

Antlions have a fascinating lifecycle. Their larvae look nothing like the adults, dig pits in sand, and predate small invertebrates (hence their name).

Wonderful to be at Fowler’s Gap, NSW, for a couple of days fieldwork - a really stunning variety of landscapes.

Picking through some arid zone barn owl material today. Lots of small mammal bones, but a surprising amount of frog as well.

Fun fact: If you stretched all the DNA in a human body out into a line, then started at one end driving at 100km/hr, it would take you 68,493 years to reach the other end. Alternatively, if you traveled at light speed, you could get there in just 27.36 hours.

A laptop case and a warm lamp. What more could a cat wish for on a bleak rainy Adelaide day.

Magpies may not be a pesky Australian import – new research finds their ancestors thrived in NZ a long time ago A fossil discovery of an ancient relative of the Australian magpie which lived in New Zealand some 19 million years ago challenges the understanding of ‘native’ species.

theconversation.com/magpies-may-...

Scientists sound the alarm for Nullarbor’s fragile limestone caves and unique underground creatures A massive renewable energy project threatens the treasures that lie beneath, including rare cave animals and a record of ancient life forms, experts warn

The more we learn about the Nullarbor's landscape, biodiversity and history, the clearer it becomes that this is a unique and special place. Somewhere worthy of protection, not just for Australia, but for the world.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Impressive work - The number of recognised genera of Australo-Papuan treefrogs has just been increased from 3 to 35!

academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

Burrowing Into the Past: Extending Niche Space Models of Procellariiform Breeding Grounds by Merging Fossil and Historic Data Aim Predicting species' potential distributions and niches requires multi-scale data encompassing the past and present. Increasingly, researchers have advocated using historical context to inform ec...

Stoked to finally see this one out in the wide world: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Tube-nosed #seabirds in #Aotearoa #NewZealand have been largely driven extinct on the mainland, since the arrival of humans. Our paper shows just how dramatic this collapse likely was...(1/4)

The FIRST International Conference on Palaeogenomics will happen in Stockholm, Sweden, June 23-26, 2026!

Topics will encompass all corners of ancient DNA research, from humans to wildlife and sediments🧬🦣💀🦠

Save the dates ✅

Check the website icp2026.palaeogenomics.org and follow us for updates!