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Did hybridization save the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata?

Garnett, Stephen T; Olsen, Penelope; Butchart, Stuart H.M.; Hoffmann, Ary

Description

The population of the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata, a nocturnal bird restricted to the Australian territory of Norfolk Island, was reduced to a single female in 1986. Deliberate introduction of two males of its nearest relative, the New Zealand boobook N. n. novaeseelandiae, as a conservation intervention has allowed the taxon to persist on Norfolk Island, albeit in hybrid form. Although declared Extinct in 2000, a re-examination of this unique situation has...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorGarnett, Stephen T
dc.contributor.authorOlsen, Penelope
dc.contributor.authorButchart, Stuart H.M.
dc.contributor.authorHoffmann, Ary
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T23:12:41Z
dc.identifier.issn0030-6053
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/64086
dc.description.abstractThe population of the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata, a nocturnal bird restricted to the Australian territory of Norfolk Island, was reduced to a single female in 1986. Deliberate introduction of two males of its nearest relative, the New Zealand boobook N. n. novaeseelandiae, as a conservation intervention has allowed the taxon to persist on Norfolk Island, albeit in hybrid form. Although declared Extinct in 2000, a re-examination of this unique situation has concluded there is a strong argument that the taxon should be categorized as Critically Endangered because, on average, approximately half the nuclear genome of the original taxon and all the mitochondrial DNA is conserved in all living owls on the island. This thus represents a special case in which the taxon can be considered to be extant, in hybrid form, even though no pure-bred individuals survive. More generally, we suggest that, in exceptional cases, hybridization may not be a threat to highly threatened species and that guidelines are needed to determine when to consider hybrid populations as extant forms of the original taxon, and when to declare extinction through hybridization.
dc.publisherBlackwell Publishing Ltd
dc.sourceOryx: Journal of Fauna and Flora International
dc.subjectKeywords: conservation status; endangered species; extinction; genome; hybridization; mitochondrial DNA; nocturnal activity; raptor; Red List; territory; New Zealand; Norfolk Island; Aves; Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata; Strigiformes Extinction; hybridization; IUCN Red List criteria; Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata; Norfolk Island; owl
dc.titleDid hybridization save the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata?
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume45
dc.date.issued2011
local.identifier.absfor050299 - Environmental Science and Management not elsewhere classified
local.identifier.ariespublicationu9511635xPUB885
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationGarnett, Stephen T, Charles Darwin University
local.contributor.affiliationOlsen, Penelope, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationButchart, Stuart H.M., Birdlife International
local.contributor.affiliationHoffmann, Ary, University of Melbourne
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue4
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage500
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage504
local.identifier.doi10.1017/S0030605311000871
local.identifier.absseo960799 - Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards not elsewhere classified
dc.date.updated2016-02-24T12:09:08Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-80955126800
local.identifier.thomsonID000297883300011
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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