The Dodo bird became extinct in 1681, though the repercussions of its demise were not fully understood for the next 300 years.
The Dodo lived on a small island in the Indian Ocean. Secluded for several generations, it 
became unnecessary for it to fly, and therefore nested on the ground. When man discovered the island, the Dodo became a welcome meal for both the men and their pets. Because of the introduction of man and foreign beasts to the island, the Dodo Bird became extinct, with the last of the species dying in 1681.
The Dodo has since been classified as a ‘keystone species,’ namely a species whose extinction from a particular ecosystem strongly affects the population of several other species in that same environment. For instance, a more modern example of a keystone species is the sea otter. Orca whales have begun eating sea otters in greater numbers than ever before, since their normal food source is diminishing. Since the sea otters are keystone species, the loss of a large number of them has affected the population control of another species – kelp. Sea otter’s eat sea urchins, which in turn eat kelp, and with fewer urchins being eaten, the kelp population has drastically been reduced.
When the Dodo bird became extinct, it left behind more myth than evidence of its impact on its environment. However, in the 1980s, a scientist began to notice that an old species of tree, on the very same island of the Dodo bird, was dying off. This scientist noted that of the 13 trees of this species left, all were more than 300 years old, with the last one having been germinated in the later1600s. Curiosity drove this scientist to discover an amazing feature of the Dodo bird never recognized before – that the survival of the tree was dependent on the digestive process of that very bird.
Though only one of more than 20 bird species that became extinct through human exploitation and introduction of foreign species to this island, the Dodo’s digestive system was a critical step in the process of this trees ability to live. “It turns out that the dodo ate the fruit of this tree, and it was only by passing through the dodo’s digestive system that the seeds became active and could grow. Now, more than 300 years after one species became extinct, another was to follow as a direct consequence.”
It is with thanks to this observant scientist’s discovery that this tree now has a chance at survival. As it turns out, domestic turkey gullets have a digestive system sufficiently similar to that of the Dodo. A new generation of this tree (now called the “Dodo Tree”) has been started, and if these seedlings survive and can reproduce, than this species has been saved.
The lessons of the Dodo are incredibly important in today’s ecological smorgasbord. We can never know for certain how the loss of (or strain on) one species, might affect a species that humans may rely on for food, shelter, medicine, or fuel.
For more information on the Dodo bird, please visit bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm
To learn more about keystone species, visit
animals.about.com/od/animalswildlife101/f/keystonespecies.htm
And to learn more about the need to sustain biodiversity, please visit
ni-environment.gov.uk/natural/biodiversity/whybio.shtml
Images courtesy of boingboing.net and perrysburgblog.com
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