When Giants Ate the Forest: How Moa Shaped New Zealand’s Plants

Peter Frost, Science Support Service. Whanganui, New Zealand

The garden in front of the Whanganui Regional Museum contains a variety of plants with attributes believed to have evolved as defences against moa browsing. Features such as many small leaves concealed within a network of tough, wiry, zigzag-shaped branches—widely known as the divaricate habit—likely limited the amount of plant material that moa could eat efficiently. New Zealand originally lacked mammalian browsers, which feed by biting and chewing plant tissues. Instead, browsing was limited to moa and other birds, which pluck at the vegetation. This talk will explore these interactions and their implications, and how they fit into the broader context of plant defences against herbivores.

​Nature Talks is a series of bi-monthly talks offered by three local environmental groups—Birds New Zealand (Whanganui Region), the Whanganui branch of Forest & Bird, and the Wanganui Botanical Group—in conjunction with the Whanganui Regional Museum. The topics all relate to New Zealand’s environment, natural history and conservation. The talks are typically held on the third Tuesday of every second month.

Entrance is free, although to help cover costs, a koha is always appreciated from those who can afford it.

For more information contact Peter Frost (06 343 1648). Email pghfrost@xtra.co.nz

Feature image: Browsing-resistant plants with attributes thought to have evolved in response to moa browsing, established in front of the Whanganui Regional Museum. Image credit: Peter Frost