The mycobiota of faeces from the critically endangered kākāpō and associated nest litter

Abstract

The critically endangered kākāpō is a flightless, nocturnal parrot endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. During the 2019 breeding season multiple kākāpō on Whenua Hou, an island with one of the largest kākāpō populations, contracted the respiratory fungal disease aspergillosis. Infection is caused by members of the genus Aspergillus which can seriously impact avian health and is often fatal to wild and domestic birds. We sought to understand how Aspergillus influenced the gut mycobiota of kākāpō chicks and surrounding nest litter communities over a 10-week period. This study was conducted in parallel with another longitudinal project utilising the same samples where we investigated the influence of management practice on development of gut bacterial communities in kākāpō chicks. Ultimately, aspergillosis infection had no significant impact on the fungal communities of kākāpō chicks or nest litter, and nor did regular management practices (i.e. artificially removing faecal material from nests). Age and time, however, were significantly associated with variation in the mycobiotas of chick and nest samples. Overall, this study represents our first glimpse of the kākāpō gut mycobiota and provides essential information and future research directions for the conservation of this rare species.