Where The Wild Things Were: Re-wilding and the Sixth Extinction - Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Change - page 50

Fig ure 3.7 Pre-human and present kakapo and Dactylanthus taylorii distribution. The ranges of these
two endangered species no longer overlap (Wood et al. 2012), but palaeoecological studies indicate a role
of kakapo in the pollination of D. taylorii , presenting opportunities for translocations that restore func-
tional connectivity. Reproduced with permission from John Wiley & Sons and the New Zealand Ministry
for the Environment 2007) Image of Dactylanthus courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden <http://w w w.
botanicus.org>
which in fact were formerly contiguous populations that have become artificially fragmented
by habitat loss. Instead, the palaeoecological data can help in guiding 'inter-situ' conserva-
tion efforts, which restore connectivity between subpopulations that have become genetically
isolated over the past 1,000 years due to human activities. For example, in New Zealand, stud-
ies of ancient DNA have shown that an endangered parasitic plant, Dactylanthus taylorii was
once pollinated by a nocturnal, flightless parrot, the kakapo ( Strigops habroptilus ), which is