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The third dodo-expedition will depart on the 18th of October. The aim of the expedition is to process the fossil rich soil of the dodo-polder and sieve and catalogue the fossils. Special emphasis will be laid on the dodo findings. Earlier research and preliminary investigations by Naturalis student Anneke van Heteren suggests that more than one type of dodo may have been present on Mauritius. Paleontologists of Naturalis Hanneke Meijer and John de Vos, Julian Hume of the Natural History Museum, Tring and Anwar Janoo from the National Heritage Fund Mauritius will investigate whether one or more species of dodo had existed on Mauritius. Like the finches on the Galapagos the predecessor of dodos after colonizing the pristine island of Mauritius millions of years ago may have also radiated into several species. After three years of research It is still a mystery why so many dodos died 4000 year ago to form the dodo mass grave. In a recently published scientific publication by the expedition team it is suggested that the dodos may have died of thirst. Therefore an important part of the dodo expedition is investigating the quality and availability of fresh water in the marshy region of the mass grave on Mauritius. Hydrologists Perry de Louw of Deltares and MSc student Joost Brinkkemper IBED-UvA will collect data on fresh water conditions of the dodo mass grave. Further in the period of the expedition, Naturalis, the Royal Tropical Museum of Amsterdam and Zoological Museum of Amsterdam under supervision of Marijke Besselink (KIT Amsterdam) will discuss plans with the Mauritian Museum Council on the extension of the permanent dodo exhibition as part of the Dodo-gallery.
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