Endangered Kākāpō Parrots Endemic to New Zealand Have Had Their Genomes Sequenced; DNA Could Help Save Flightless Birds From Extinction

Kākāpō (Strigops habroptila) are rare and endangered. Researchers and conservationists are already doing their best to save the flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand.

Kākāpō Parrot Have Had Their Genomes Sequenced

The round, green birds previously inhabited all of the nation's islands, but their population drastically declined as humans and other invasive creatures came. As of August 2022, conservation efforts have resulted in a moderate recovery of 252 individuals.

Peter Dearden, a biochemist at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, headed a group of scientists and conservationists who sequenced the genomes of 169 kākāpō from living creatures and preserved material. It was almost the entire kākāpō population at the time.

With this information, scientists could examine the genetic variety of the entire species and pinpoint particular DNA sequences associated with characteristics that would be detrimental to the survival of the birds, such as chick size or disease susceptibility.

According to Dearden, they were able to link genetic variation to observed features like growth and forecast how that trait would manifest in progeny, enabling us to spot issues sooner and give priority to veterinary care.

That information from the entire population may be useful in identifying personal hazards. He likened it to a "personalized medicine for parrots."

Their work illustrates the value of investing in genetic sequencing for threatened and endangered species, according to Rebecca Taylor, a conservation-genomics researcher at Environment and Climate Change Canada in Ottawa. She added that until recently, most programs have concentrated on reducing inbreeding, which is a crucial objective. However, with severely endangered species, it is advantageous for the species' future viability to incorporate the genetic basis of known fitness features, such as disease susceptibility or fertility rates, into a breeding program.

What's a Kākāpō Parrot?

Kākāpō is a large flightless nocturnal parrot (family Psittacidae) native to New Zealand. It is also known as the owl parrot. One of the oddest and most uncommon birds on Earth, the kākāpō has an owl-like face, a penguin-like posture, and a duck-like gait.

The largest parrot in the world, the 64-cm (25-inch) kākāpō has moss-colored green and brown plumage, a long, rounded tail, and a thick, blunt, pale yellow bill. It can weigh up to 6 kg (13 pounds). The parrot waddles over long distances to feeding areas on its brownish-gray legs. It chews plants for their fluids and digs up rhizomes to crush with its ridged bill.

Leks are excavated mating arenas where males congregate in traditional locations to call and exhibit for females. Males build roads to these leks. The male inflates his chest like a swollen bullfrog, heaves his thorax, bobs his head, and makes a resonant boom similar to the sound of blowing across the top of a huge bottle in a plate-sized dip that is frequently at the summit of a rocky knoll. The call lasts all night and travels 0.8 kilometers (half a mile). Females build their nests in earthen holes, caring for two to three white, pears-shaped chicks.

Kākāpō is considered to be among New Zealand's unique treasures, Kākāpō is critically endangered. They reportedly faced challenges in their population due to infertility and inbreeding. Their story was a mixture of drama, despair, and hope, as they were abundant before humans arrived.

Their numbers dropped immediately dropped due to hunting. Conservation efforts to save them began in 1894, but by the mid-1900s, they were on the brink of extinction.

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