Kakapo 125: Sequencing the genomes of an entire species
New Zealand has been separate from other land masses for approximately 80 million years. This geographic isolation has allowed for millions of years of natural selection, largely in the absence of predatory mammals. The result has been the evolution of some of the worlds most unique and unusual species. The Kakapo is one of these unique and unusual species and it is currently critically endangered with only 125 known living Kakapo left.
The Kakapo, also known as the owl parrot, is the world’s largest parrot. It is flightless, nocturnal and ground-dwelling. Due to Polynesian and European colonisation and the introduction of predatory mammals such as rats, cats, ferrets and stoats, the flightless Kakapo was hunted and predated to near extinction. Once widespread across New Zealand, it is now confined to three predator-free islands, Whenua Hou, Anchor and Hautura-o-Toi. Since the start of the Kakapo Recovery plan in the 1980s, Kakapo numbers have increased from a low of only 51 individuals.
Scientists in...