Search

Tuatara are the sole extant species in the reptile order Rhynchocephalia. They are ecologically and evolutionarily unique, having been isolated geographically for ~84 million years and evolutionarily from their closest living relatives for ~250 million years. Here we report the tuatara gut bacterial community for the first time. We sampled the gut microbiota of translocated tuatara at five sanctuaries spanning a latitudinal range of ~1000 km within Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as individuals from the source population on Takapourewa (Stephens Island). This represents a first look at the bacterial community of the order Rhynchocephalia and provides the opportunity to address several key hypotheses, namely that the tuatara gut microbiota: (1) differs from those of other reptile orders; (2) varies among geographic locations but is more similar at sites with more similar temperatures and (3) is shaped by tuatara body condition, parasitism and ambient temperature. We found significant drivers of the microbiota in sampling site, tuatara body condition, parasitism and ambient temperature, suggesting the importance of these factors when considering tuatara conservation. We also derived a 'core' community of shared bacteria across tuatara at many sites, despite their geographic range and isolation. Remarkably, >70% of amplicon sequence variants could not be assigned to known genera, suggesting a largely undescribed gut bacterial community for this ancient host species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translocations are an important tool for conserving species at risk of extinction from a range of threats. However, an understanding of the life history of many threatened species prior to translocation is often lacking despite being critical for translocation success. For example, dispersal away from the release site in the years following a translocation—particularly when a protected release site is surrounded by unmanaged habitat—can result in failure to establish a self‐sustaining population; successful translocation practice must therefore include an understanding of a species' dispersal patterns. We examined the postfledging dispersal of 22 juveniles reared from a population of red‐fronted parakeets (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae), or kākāriki, translocated to a mainland sanctuary in Wellington, New Zealand, 6 years prior. The translocation was one of the first of this species to mainland New Zealand and presented several unknowns, in particular whether a population would establish in a sanctuary bordered both by contiguous forest as well as suburban areas. Juvenile kākāriki were radio‐tracked and their location recorded once a day, 5 days per week, for 6 months or until the transmitter battery was exhausted. Approximately one‐third of radio‐tracked juveniles that dispersed outside the sanctuary were killed by predators. Kākāriki postfledging dispersal beyond the sanctuary was male‐biased, possibly driven by inbreeding avoidance, and distance dispersed decreased with increasing body condition. As species are increasingly being translocated back to mainland New Zealand, information gained in this study helps to fill a fundamental knowledge gap regarding dispersal behavior in a mainland context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)