The historic biogeography and community ecology of Polynesian pigeons and doves

David W. Steadman

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Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies Avian ecology and behavior Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Abstract

The species richness, taxonomic diversity, and geographic distribution of pigeons and doves (Columbidae) have been altered irreversibly in Polynesia by 3500 years of human activity. Natural (without human influence) columbid faunas are estimated primarily by studying prehistoric bones. In all Polynesian island groups studied (except outlying Easter Island, Hawaiian Islands, or New Zealand), the prehistoric columbid faunas had more species, more genera, and more species per genus than modern faunas from the same island. Congeneric species pairs or triplets occurred on many islands for Ducula , Ptilinopus , and Gallicolumba. The losses of Polynesian columbids include the extinction of at least 9 species in the genera Ducula , Ptilinopus , Macropygia , Caloenas , Gallicolumba , and Didunculus as well as the extirpation of numerous island populations of extant species. If not for human impact, a typical East Polynesian island would support at least 5–6 species of columbids in 3–4 genera (compared to 0–3 species in 0–3 genera today). A typical West Polynesian island would support at least 6–7 species in 4–5 genera (compared to 1–6 species in 1–5 genera today). Since all Polynesian pigeons and doves are frugivorous and/or granivorous, their decline in recent millennia probably has affected the composition of Polynesian forests by limiting inter‐ and intra‐island dispersal of plant propagules.

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References

1995Prehistoric Extinctions of Pacific Island Birds: Biodiversity Meets Zooarchaeology 1994The wet and the dry: irrigation and agricultural intensification in Polynesia.1982Fossil Birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Evidence for Wholesale Extinction by Man Before Western Contact 1989Extinction of birds in Eastern polynesia: A review of the record, and comparisons with other Pacific Island groups 1993Biogeography of Tongan birds before and after human impact.1995Prehistory and human ecology in Eastern Polynesia: Excavations at Tangatatau Rockshelter, Mangaia, Cook Islands 1985Bird remains from an archaeological site on Henderson Island, South Pacific: Man-caused extinctions on an “uninhabited” island 1990Prehistoric extinction of birds on Mangaia, Cook Islands, Polynesia.

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2005A New Species of Extinct Parrot (Psittacidae: Eclectus ) from Tonga and Vanuatu, South Pacific 2006An extinct species of tooth‐billed pigeon (Didunculus) from the Kingdom of Tonga, and the concept of endemism in insular landbirds 2018New prehistoric avifaunas from the Gambier Group, French Polynesia 2019Prehistoric avifaunas from the Kingdom of Tonga

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