| complete mitochondrial dna genome sequences of extinct birds: ratite phylogenetics and the vicariance biogeography hypothesis. | the ratites have stimulated much debate as to how such large flightless birds came to be distributed across the southern continents, and whether they are a monophyletic group or are composed of unrelated lineages that independently lost the power of flight. hypotheses regarding the relationships among taxa differ for morphological and molecular data sets, thus hindering attempts to test whether plate tectonic events can explain ratite biogeography. here, we present the complete mitochondrial dna ... | 2001 | 11370967 |
| ancient dna and conservation: lessons from the endangered kiwi of new zealand. | conservation genetics typically seeks to map the distribution of contemporary genetic variation across space, and to use the resulting genetic parameters to infer any likely short-term evolutionary consequences for rare and endangered species. recent developments in the study of ancient dna now enable the extension of genetic variation studies backwards in time and provide a context by which to interpret contemporary levels of genetic variation, in addition to any patterns of genetic change over ... | 2008 | 18410293 |
| malaria parasites (plasmodium spp.) infecting introduced, native and endemic new zealand birds. | avian malaria is caused by intracellular mosquito-transmitted protist parasites in the order haemosporida, genus plasmodium. although plasmodium species have been diagnosed as causing death in several threatened species in new zealand, little is known about their ecology and epidemiology. in this study, we examined the presence, microscopic characterization and sequence homology of plasmodium spp. isolates collected from a small number of new zealand introduced, native and endemic bird species. ... | 2011 | 21842389 |
| ancient dna analyses reveal contrasting phylogeographic patterns amongst kiwi (apteryx spp.) and a recently extinct lineage of spotted kiwi. | the little spotted kiwi (apteryx owenii) is a flightless ratite formerly found throughout new zealand but now greatly reduced in distribution. previous phylogeographic studies of the related brown kiwi (a. mantelli, a. rowi and a. australis), with which little spotted kiwi was once sympatric, revealed extremely high levels of genetic structuring, with mitochondrial dna haplotypes often restricted to populations. we surveyed genetic variation throughout the present and pre-human range of little s ... | 2012 | 22876319 |
| isolation and genotyping of campylobacter species from kiwi (apteryx spp.) in captivity: implications for transmission to and from humans. | to investigate the presence of campylobacter spp. in captive kiwi (apteryx spp.) and compare their genotypic profiles with those of human and animal origin, in order to assess their potential for zoonotic or zooanthroponotic transmission. | 2019 | 30731043 |