How gene mapping almost all remaining kākāpō will help NZ’s rare night parrot survive
The genetic mapping of almost the entire kākāpō population has shed new light on specific traits that will help conservation biologists in their efforts to save the critically endangered flightless night parrots.
- The genetic mapping of almost the entire kākāpō population has shed new light on specific traits that will help conservation biologists in their efforts to save the critically endangered flightless night parrots.
- They only breed every few years, triggered by the availability of certain forest foods such as the fruits of the native rimu tree.
- Read more:
Plant hormone boost for New Zealand's critically endangered night parrot
Intense species management
- The aim was to gather as much information as possible on each bird, hoping this would allow better management and identification of risks.
- Our team from Genomics Aotearoa applied for access to the data to see if we could develop new tools to help manage kākāpō and perhaps other endangered species.
- Read more:
A huge project is underway to sequence the genome of every complex species on Earth
Understanding the genetics of kākāpō biology
- This allowed us to update the kākāpō family tree and to identify families with unusual genetics.
- We studied a range of biological features to link genomic information with observable traits.
- Read more:
Back from the brink: how genome research is helping the recovery of the Chatham Island black robin
Looking towards kākāpō’s future
- Our work confirms that the active management carried out over the past 45 years has maintained diversity in breeding values.
- This diversity means that kākāpō have enough genetic diversity and evolutionary potential to cope with future challenges.
- These are a test of our predictions and an opportunity to finetune our models to raise the future prospects for the species.