Since the scientific history of Macquarie island extends a bit further back than we have seen so far, here is a supplement to David Duffy's chronology. There are many other sources, but these five capture some interesting moments.
First, "Notice in regard to Macquarie Island" by Thomas Raine, Edinburgh Philosophical Journal (1824) http://books.google.com/books?id=HhgxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false This is an early description, but still made over a decade after the island came to the attention of commercial sealers and penguin hunters. Second, "Macquarie Island" by John H. Scott, from Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1882). http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_15/rsnz_15_00_006250.html Third, "Notes on a Visit to Macquarie Island" by A. Hamilton, from Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1894). http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_27/rsnz_27_00_004370.html A year later, in summary: "Macquarie Island was discovered in 1811 by a sealer, who procured a cargo of 80,000 skins. Sealing on these islands was at its height from 1810 to 1820. In two years 300,000 skins were obtained, one vessel carrying away 100,000. Now Morrell, who visited those regions in 1830, reported that the sealers had made such complete destruction "as scarcely to leave a breed, not one fur-seal" being found by him. A few, however, survived the general slaughter, and, in recent years, under the protection of the Government of New Zealand, a small annual catch of from one to two thousand fur-seals is now taken." –Paris Tribunal of Arbitration (Fur Seal Fisheries)15:245 Washington:GPO (1895) http://books.google.com/books?id=6k0uAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA245#v=onepage&q&f=false Finally, for a review focused on factors related to one particular extinction, see Taylor, R.H. 1979. How the Macquarie Island Parakeet Became Extinct. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 2:42-45. (*extinct*- website.com/pdf/NZJEcol2_42.pdf). Restoration is in the eye of the beholder. Matthew K Chew Assistant Research Professor Arizona State University School of Life Sciences ASU Center for Biology & Society PO Box 873301 Tempe, AZ 85287-3301 USA Tel 480.965.8422 Fax 480.965.8330 [email protected] or [email protected] http://cbs.asu.edu/people/profiles/chew.php http://asu.academia.edu/MattChew
