plant communities

For tens of millions of years the ratite moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) were the largest herbivores in New Zealand’s terrestrial ecosystems. In occupying this ecological niche for such a long time, moa undoubtedly had a strong influence on the evolution of New Zealand’s flora and played important functional roles within ecosystems. The extinction of moa in the 15th century ce therefore marked a significant event in New Zealand’s biological history, not only in terms of biodiversity loss, but in the loss of an evolutionarily and ecologically distinct order of birds.

The vegetation of 10 quadrats from each of 26 sites, in and around the Tongariro National Park, which contained the introduced dwarf shrub, Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull, was analysed using Reciprocal Averaging and Indicator Species Analysis.