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Undid revision 1217383926 by Richlitt (talk) Linked earlier. |
m →Behaviour and ecology: Added back the link to red rail. The previous links are in other sections, and this is in a list of species where it was marked that one wasn't linked. I think this improves the section. Tags: Manual revert Reverted |
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The preferred habitat of the dodo is unknown, but old descriptions suggest that it inhabited the woods on the drier coastal areas of south and west Mauritius. This view is supported by the fact that the [[Mare aux Songes]] swamp, where most dodo remains have been excavated, is close to the sea in south-eastern Mauritius.{{sfn|Fuller|2002|p=23}} Such a limited distribution across the island could well have contributed to its extinction.{{sfn|Fuller|2002|p=41}} A 1601 map from the ''Gelderland'' journal shows a small island off the coast of Mauritius where dodos were caught. Julian Hume has suggested this island was [[l'île aux Benitiers]] in [[Tamarin Bay]], on the west coast of Mauritius.{{sfn|Fuller|2002|p=54}}<ref name=Hume2003/> Subfossil bones have also been found inside caves in highland areas, indicating that it once occurred on mountains. Work at the Mare aux Songes swamp has shown that its habitat was dominated by [[tambalacoque]] and ''[[Pandanus]]'' trees and endemic palms.<ref name=Hume2017/> The near-coastal placement and wetness of the Mare aux Songes led to a high diversity of plant species, whereas the surrounding areas were drier.<ref name=Rijsdijk2016>{{cite journal|last1=Rijsdijk|first1=K. F. |last2=Hume|first2=J. P. |last3=Louw|first3=P. G. B. D. |last4=Meijer|first4=H. J. M. |last5=Janoo|first5=A. |last6=De Boer|first6=E. J. |last7=Steel|first7=L. |last8=De Vos|first8=J. |last9=Van Der Sluis|first9=L. G.|last10=Hooghiemstra|first10=H. |last11=Florens|first11=F. B. V. |last12=Baider|first12=C. |last13=Vernimmen|first13=T. J. J. |last14=Baas|first14=P. |last15=Van Heteren|first15=A. H. |last16=Rupear|first16=V. |last17=Beebeejaun|first17=G. |last18=Grihault|first18=A. |last19=Van Der Plicht|first19=J. |last20=Besselink|first20=M. |last21=Lubeek|first21=J. K. |last22=Jansen|first22=M. |last23=Kluiving|first23=S. J. |last24=Hollund|first24=H. |last25=Shapiro|first25=B. |last26=Collins|first26=M. |last27=Buckley|first27=M. |last28=Jayasena|first28=R. M. |last29=Porch|first29=N. |last30=Floore|first30=R. |last31=Bunnik|first31=F. |last32=Biedlingmaier|first32=A. |last33=Leavitt|first33=J. |last34=Monfette|first34=G. |last35=Kimelblatt|first35=A. |last36=Randall|first36=A. |last37=Floore|first37=P. |last38=Claessens|first38=L. P. A. M. |display-authors=8 |title=A review of the dodo and its ecosystem: insights from a vertebrate concentration Lagerstätte in Mauritius |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=2016 |volume=35 |issue=sup 1|pages=3–20 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2015.1113803 |doi-access=free |hdl=1893/25225 |ref={{sfnRef|Rijsdijk et al.|2016}}|hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Many endemic species of Mauritius became extinct after the arrival of humans, so the [[ecosystem]] of the island is badly damaged and hard to reconstruct. Before humans arrived, Mauritius was entirely covered in forests, but very little remains of them today, because of [[deforestation]].<ref>{{cite journal| doi= 10.1017/S0030605300020457| last= Cheke | first= A. S.| year= 1987| title= The legacy of the dodo—conservation in Mauritius| journal= Oryx| volume= 21| issue= 1| pages= 29–36| s2cid= 86670941 | doi-access= free}}</ref> The surviving endemic [[fauna]] is still seriously threatened.<ref>{{cite journal| doi = 10.1017/S0030605300012643| last = Temple | first = S. A.| year = 1974| title = Wildlife in Mauritius today| journal = Oryx| volume = 12| issue = 5| pages = 584–590| s2cid = 86773685 | doi-access = free}}</ref> The dodo lived alongside other recently extinct Mauritian birds such as the flightless [[red rail]], the [[broad-billed parrot]], the [[Mascarene grey parakeet]], the [[Mauritius blue pigeon]], the [[Mauritius scops owl]], the [[Mascarene coot]], the [[Mauritian shelduck]], the [[Mauritian duck]], and the [[Mauritius night heron]]. Extinct Mauritian reptiles include the [[saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise]], the [[domed Mauritius giant tortoise]], the [[Mauritian giant skink]], and the [[Round Island burrowing boa]]. The [[small Mauritian flying fox]] and the snail ''[[Tropidophora carinata]]'' lived on Mauritius and Réunion, but vanished from both islands. Some plants, such as ''[[Casearia tinifolia]]'' and the [[palm orchid]], have also become extinct.{{sfn|Cheke|Hume|2008|pp=49–52}}
=== Diet and feeding ===
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