| Palaeognath |
A clade of extant birds, sister to Neognaths; retain a “primitive” palate. |
| Neognath |
A clade of extant birds, sister to Palaeognaths; differ from Palaeognathae in the structure of their palate. |
| Vicariance |
The process by which new species are generated through the formation of a geographical barrier to gene flow between populations. |
| Sexual dimorphism |
Disparity in the morphology (typically size) between the males and females of a species. |
| Coprolite |
Fossil faeces. |
| Palynology |
The study of pollen. |
| Midden |
A refuse heap. |
| Anthropocene |
“The period of time during which human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth regarded as constituting a distinct geological age” [12]. |
| Volant |
Possessing the ability to fly. |
| Predator naïvety |
The indifference of island species to potential predators making them vulnerable to predation and extinction. |
| Next-generation sequencing |
NGS; also known as “high-throughput” and “second-generation” sequencing. Short fragments of DNA (typically 50–500 bp) can be sequenced in parallel. |
| Metabarcoding |
Involves the use of highly conserved primers that are able to bind to DNA from multiple different species in a mixed sample, yet amplify a region (a DNA “barcode”) that is variable enough to distinguish between species within the sample based on its sequence [13]. |
| PCR |
Polymerase chain reaction; the method by which specific target regions of DNA are amplified. |
| Sanger sequencing |
Also known as “first-generation” sequencing; employs a “chain-termination” chemistry to sequence typically long fragments (400 bp +) with high accuracy, one-at-a-time. |
| Shotgun sequencing |
All DNA fragments within an extract are built into a sequencing library through the ligation of sequences adapters to either end; sequence reads are then overlapped to a continuous sequence. For aDNA, both endogenous and contaminating DNA is sequenced. |
| Transposable elements |
“Jumping genes”; gene sequences that can copy, excise, and reinsert themselves throughout the genome. |
| Microsatellites |
Sequences consisting of short tandem repeats; different alleles are characterised by the number of repeats at a locus. |
| Hybridisation capture |
A method by which to enrich target DNA prior to sequencing through the use of probes from a modern species to “bait” DNA from it’s extinct relative, leaving contaminating DNA behind. |
| Data mining |
“The practice of searching through large amounts of computerised data to find useful patterns or trends” [12]. |
| Front-end analysis |
Analysis that occurs prior to the out-set of project in order to plan the most effective way to meet the project’s end-goals. |
