Editing Holocene extinction (section)

=== Pacific ===
Archaeological and paleontological digs on 70 different [[Pacific islands]] suggested that numerous species became extinct as people moved across the Pacific, starting 30,000 years ago in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]] and [[Solomon Islands]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Steadman|first1=D. W.|last2=Martin |first2=P. S.|year=2003|title=The late Quaternary extinction and future resurrection of birds on Pacific islands|journal=[[Earth-Science Reviews]]|volume=61|issue=1–2|pages=133–147|doi=10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00116-2|bibcode=2003ESRv...61..133S}}</ref> It is currently estimated that among the bird species of the Pacific, some 2000 species have gone extinct since the arrival of humans, representing a 20% drop in the biodiversity of birds worldwide.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Steadman|first=D. W.|author-link=David Steadman|year=1995|title=Prehistoric extinctions of Pacific island birds: biodiversity meets zooarchaeology|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=267|issue=5201|pages=1123–1131 |doi=10.1126/science.267.5201.1123|bibcode=1995Sci...267.1123S|pmid=17789194|s2cid=9137843 }}</ref> In Polynesia, the Late Holocene declines in avifaunas only abated after they were heavily depleted and there were increasingly fewer bird species able to be driven to extinction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Steadman |first=David W. |date=1 March 1989 |title=Extinction of birds in Eastern polynesia: A review of the record, and comparisons with other Pacific Island groups |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403%2889%2990065-4 |journal=[[Journal of Archaeological Science]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=177–205 |doi=10.1016/0305-4403(89)90065-4 |bibcode=1989JArSc..16..177S |issn=0305-4403 |access-date=20 January 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref> Iguanas were likewise decimated by the spread of humans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Steadman |first1=David W. |last2=Pregill |first2=Gregory K. |last3=Burley |first3=David V. |date=19 March 2002 |title=Rapid prehistoric extinction of iguanas and birds in Polynesia |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=3673–3677 |doi=10.1073/pnas.072079299 |doi-access=free |pmid=11904427 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=122582 |bibcode=2002PNAS...99.3673S }}</ref> Additionally, the endemic faunas of Pacific archipelagos are exceptionally at risk in the coming decades due to rising sea levels caused by global warming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Lalit |last2=Tehrany |first2=Mahyat Shafapour |date=13 July 2017 |title=Climate change impacts on the threatened terrestrial vertebrates of the Pacific Islands |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=5030 |doi=10.1038/s41598-017-05034-4 |pmid=28706225 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=5509733 |bibcode=2017NatSR...7.5030K }}</ref>

Lord Howe Island, which remained uninhabited until the arrival of Europeans in the South Pacific in the 18th century, lost much of its endemic avifauna when it became a whaling station in the early 19th century. Another wave of bird extinctions occurred following the introduction of black rats in 1918.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hume |first1=Julian P. |last2=Hutton |first2=Ian |last3=Middleton |first3=Greg |last4=Nguyen |first4=Jacqueline M.T. |last5=Wylie |first5=John |date=3 May 2021 |title=A Terrestrial Vertebrate Palaeontological Reconnaissance of Lord Howe Island, Australia |url=https://bioone.org/journals/pacific-science/volume-75/issue-1/75.1.2/A-Terrestrial-Vertebrate-Palaeontological-Reconnaissance-of-Lord-Howe-Island-Australia/10.2984/75.1.2.full |journal=[[Pacific Science]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |doi=10.2984/75.1.2 |issn=0030-8870 |access-date=3 July 2024 |via=BioOne Digital Library}}</ref>

The endemic megafaunal meiolaniid turtles of Vanuatu - representing the final members of a group that had existed for over 100 million years - became extinct immediately following the first human arrivals and remains of them containing evidence of butchery by humans have been found.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Arthur W. |last2=Worthy |first2=Trevor H. |last3=Hawkins |first3=Stuart |last4=Bedford |first4=Stuart |last5=Spriggs |first5=Matthew |date=16 August 2010 |title=Megafaunal meiolaniid horned turtles survived until early human settlement in Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=107 |issue=35 |pages=15512–15516 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1005780107 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=2932593 |pmid=20713711 |bibcode=2010PNAS..10715512W }}</ref>

The arrival of humans in [[New Caledonia]] marked the commencement of coastal forest and mangrove decline on the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=Janelle |date=September 2004 |title=A late-Holocene record of human impact from the southwest coast of New Caledonia |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1191/0959-683604hl755rp |journal=[[The Holocene]] |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=888–898 |doi=10.1191/0959-683604hl755rp |bibcode=2004Holoc..14..888S |s2cid=44797352 |access-date=20 January 2024 |via=Sage Journals}}</ref> The archipelago's megafauna - such as the large, flightless [[Galliformes|galliform]] ''[[Sylviornis]]'' - was still extant when humans arrived, but indisputable evidence for the anthropogenicity of their extinction remains elusive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |last2=Sand |first2=Christophe |last3=Petchey |first3=Fiona |last4=Worthy |first4=Trevor H. |title=Faunal extinction and human habitation in New Caledonia: Initial results and implications of new research at the Pindai Caves |url=https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/5404 |journal=Journal of Pacific Archaeology |date=2009 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=89–109 |doi=10.70460/jpa.v1i1.12 |hdl=10289/5404 |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223090800/https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/5404 |url-status=live |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In Fiji, the giant iguanas ''[[Brachylophus gibbonsi]]'' and ''[[Lapitiguana|Lapitiguana impensa]]'' both succumbed to human-induced extinction shortly after encountering the first humans on the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pregill |first1=Gregory K. |last2=Steadman |first2=David W. |date=1 March 2004 |title=South Pacific Iguanas: Human Impacts and a New Species |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1670/73-03A |journal=[[Journal of Herpetology]] |language=en |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=15–21 |doi=10.1670/73-03A |s2cid=85627049 |issn=0022-1511 |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref>

In [[American Samoa]], deposits dating back to the period of initial human colonisation contain elevated quantities of bird, turtle, and fish remains caused by increased predation pressure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weisler |first1=Marshall I. |last2=Lambrides |first2=Ariana B. J. |last3=Quintus |first3=Seth |last4=Clark |first4=Jeffrey |last5=Worthy |first5=Trevor H. |date=2016 |title=Colonisation and late period faunal assemblages from Ofu Island, American Samoa |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/59061/ |journal=Journal of Pacific Archaeology |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.70460/jpa.v7i2.200 |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607130640/https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/59061/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On [[Mangaia]] in the [[Cook Islands]], human colonisation was associated with a major extinction of endemic avifauna,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Steadman |first1=David W. |last2=Kirch |first2=P. V. |date=1 December 1990 |title=Prehistoric extinction of birds on Mangaia, Cook Islands, Polynesia. |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=87 |issue=24 |pages=9605–9609 |doi=10.1073/pnas.87.24.9605 |doi-access=free |pmid=11607131 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=55221 |bibcode=1990PNAS...87.9605S }}</ref> along with deforestation, erosion of volcanic hillsides, and increased charcoal influx, causing additional environmental damage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kirch |first=P V |date=28 May 1996 |title=Late Holocene human-induced modifications to a central Polynesian island ecosystem. |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=93 |issue=11 |pages=5296–5300 |doi=10.1073/pnas.93.11.5296 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=39239 |pmid=8643569 |bibcode=1996PNAS...93.5296K }}</ref>

On Rapa in the Austral Archipelago, human arrival, marked by the increase in charcoal and in [[taro]] pollen in the palynological record, is associated with the extinction of an endemic palm.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prebble |first1=Matthew |last2=Anderson |first2=Atholl |last3=Kennett |first3=Douglas J |date=18 September 2012 |title=Forest clearance and agricultural expansion on Rapa, Austral Archipelago, French Polynesia |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959683612455551 |journal=[[The Holocene (journal)|The Holocene]] |language=en |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=179–196 |doi=10.1177/0959683612455551 |issn=0959-6836 |access-date=4 June 2024 |via=Sage Journals |archive-date=5 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605034447/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959683612455551 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Henderson Island, once thought to be untouched by humans, was colonised and later abandoned by Polynesians. The ecological collapse on the island caused by the anthropogenic extinctions is believed to have caused the island's abandonment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Steadman |first1=David W. |last2=Olson |first2=Storrs L. |date=1 September 1985 |title=Bird remains from an archaeological site on Henderson Island, South Pacific: Man-caused extinctions on an "uninhabited" island |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=82 |issue=18 |pages=6191–6195 |doi=10.1073/pnas.82.18.6191 |doi-access=free |pmid=16593606 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=391018 |bibcode=1985PNAS...82.6191S }}</ref>

The [[Ancient Hawaii|first human settlers]] of the [[Hawaiian Islands]] are thought to have arrived between 300 and 800 AD, with European arrival in the 16th century. Hawaii is notable for its [[Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands|endemism]] of plants, [[Endemic birds of Hawaii|birds]], insects, mollusks and [[List of fish of Hawaii|fish]]; 30% of its organisms are endemic. Many of its species are endangered or have gone extinct, primarily due to accidentally introduced species and livestock grazing. Over 40% of its bird species have gone extinct, and it is the location of 75% of extinctions in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=22 November 2005|title=Controlling Ungulate Populations in native ecosystems in Hawaii|url=http://www.hawaiiconservation.org/images/uploads/resources/ungulates.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Hawaii Conservation Alliance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508222953/http://www.hawaiiconservation.org/images/uploads/resources/ungulates.pdf|archive-date=2016-05-08}}</ref> Evidence suggests that the introduction of the Polynesian rat, above all other factors, drove the ecocide of the endemic forests of the archipelago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Athens |first1=J. Stephen |last2=Toggle |first2=H. David |last3=Ward |first3=Jerome V. |last4=Welch |first4=David J. |date=14 November 2014 |title=Avifaunal extinctions, vegetation change, and Polynesian impacts in prehistoric Hawai'i |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1834-4453.2002.tb00507.x |journal=[[Archaeology in Oceania]] |language=en |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=57–78 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.2002.tb00507.x |issn=0728-4896 |access-date=20 January 2024 |via=Wiley Online Library |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130054600/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1834-4453.2002.tb00507.x |url-status=live }}</ref> Extinction has increased in Hawaii over the last 200 years and is relatively well documented, with extinctions among native snails used as estimates for global extinction rates.<ref name="Phys.org-2015" /> High rates of habitat fragmentation on the archipelago have further reduced biodiversity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Flaspohler |first1=David J. |last2=Giardina |first2=Christian P. |last3=Asner |first3=Gregory P. |last4=Hart |first4=Patrick |last5=Price |first5=Jonathan |last6=Lyons |first6=Cassie Ka’apu |last7=Castaneda |first7=Xeronimo |date=February 2010 |title=Long-term effects of fragmentation and fragment properties on bird species richness in Hawaiian forests |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006320709004509 |journal=[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]] |language=en |volume=143 |issue=2 |pages=280–288 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2009.10.009 |bibcode=2010BCons.143..280F |access-date=4 June 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014121438/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006320709004509 |url-status=live }}</ref> The extinction of endemic Hawaiian avifauna is likely to accelerate even further as anthropogenic global warming adds additional pressure on top of land-use changes and invasive species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Benning |first1=Tracy L. |last2=LaPointe |first2=Dennis |last3=Atkinson |first3=Carter T. |last4=Vitousek |first4=Peter M. |date=29 October 2002 |title=Interactions of climate change with biological invasions and land use in the Hawaiian Islands: Modeling the fate of endemic birds using a geographic information system |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=99 |issue=22 |pages=14246–14249 |doi=10.1073/pnas.162372399 |doi-access=free |pmid=12374870 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=137869 |bibcode=2002PNAS...9914246B }}</ref>