| human-mediated extirpation of the unique chatham islands sea lion and implications for the conservation management of remaining new zealand sea lion populations. | while terrestrial megafaunal extinctions have been well characterized worldwide, our understanding of declines in marine megafauna remains limited. here, we use ancient dna analyses of prehistoric (<1450-1650 ad) sea lion specimens from new zealand's isolated chatham islands to assess the demographic impacts of human settlement. these data suggest there was a large population of sea lions, unique to the chatham islands, at the time of polynesian settlement. this distinct mitochondrial lineage be ... | 2016 | 27289078 |