Adaptive Evolution of Native Biota

Researchers are collecting DNA information from some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most threatened species in an effort to make them more resilient to future environmental change.

 

The inventory of research outputs and resources can be found here:

Adaptive Evolution of Native Biota

This research is Completed

Overview Te Tirohanga Whānui

Scientists leading this BioHeritage Challenge project are taking critical first steps towards building resilience in threatened taonga (treasured) species, partnering with Ngāi Tūāhuriri to embed mahinga kai values and mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) into the project.

The data they gather will be used to comprehensively assess the genetic diversity of five diverse species, with a special focus on kōwaro (Canterbury mudfish) and kēkēwai (freshwater crayfish). The aim is to determine their capacity to evolve in response to environmental change – otherwise known as their adaptive potential.

Associate Professor Tammy Steeves of the University of Canterbury leads this project, with her research team developing a series of case studies. Read about one here. They’re combining high-throughput sequencing technologies with extensive ecological and environmental data to characterise adaptive variation in the five species.

By securing threatened species and resilient ecosystems, this project contributes toward BioHeritage’s goal of empowering New Zealanders so they feel inspired to protect our environment.

Ultimately, the project’s genomic approach to adaptive resilience will provide a framework that communities throughout New Zealand can use to:

  • ensure threatened species are more resilient to future environmental change

  • improve conservation, customary and commercial outcomes.

Research Area Summary Te Whakarāpopototanga Kaupapa

During their research, the team is gathering knowledge and information to further their understanding of the life force (mauri) of kōwaro and kēkēwai. This includes past, current and future distributions in Ngāi Tūāhuriri’s rohe (region), and including relevant traditional ecological knowledge and mātauranga Māori into the design of the study.

The case studies are being leveraged to characterise adaptive variation in hihi (stitchbird), kākā (brown parrot) and wētāpunga (giant wētā), and to assess the impact of preserving adaptive versus neutral genetic variation on metapopulation viability.

By integrating findings across other species for which population genomic data is being gathered – nationally and internationally – the research team can develop an evidence-based position statement that assesses the risks and benefits of prioritising adaptive variation in the management of threatened species.

Key to this aspect of the project is the opportunity for genomic data to inform translocation activities within Ngāi Tūāhuriri’s rohe and, if applicable, between their rohe and others in the South Island.

Looking for more information?

If you’re looking for any outputs (papers, data etc) from this project that you don’t see on this page please visit our data repository.

Team Members Ngā kaimahi

  • Tammy Steeves; University of Canterbury

Resource outputs from this programme

Video

Crazy & Ambitious 2 – 2019

A playlist of presentations given at New Zealand’s Biological Heritage Science Challenge conference, Crazy & Ambitious 2. 20 – 21 May 2019, Te Papa Wellington.
View Video
Video

Crazy & Ambitious – 2017

A playlist of presentations given at New Zealand’s Biological Heritage Science Challenge inaugural conference, Crazy & Ambitious. 8-10 May 2017, Te Papa Wellington
View Video
Publication

Conservation translocations of fauna in Aotearoa New Zealand: a review

There have been numerous declines and extinctions of native fauna in Aotearoa New Zealand since human settlement. Against this background of loss there have been…
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Contribution of Indigenous Peoples’ understandings and relational frameworks to invasive alien species management

Introduced species that spread and become invasive are recognised as a major threat to global biological diversity, ecosystem resilience and economic stability. Eradication is often…
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Weaving place-based knowledge for culturally significant species in the age of genomics: Looking to the past to navigate the future

Relationships with place provide critical context for characterizing biocultural diversity. Yet, genetic and genomic studies are rarely informed by Indigenous or local knowledge, processes, and…
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Publication

Genomic data of different resolutions reveal consistent inbreeding estimates but contrasting homozygosity landscapes for the threatened Aotearoa New Zealand hihi

Inbreeding can lead to a loss of heterozygosity in a population and when combined with genetic drift may reduce the adaptive potential of a species.…
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Evolution of the “world’s only alpine parrot”: Genomic adaptation or phenotypic plasticity, behaviour and ecology?

Climate warming, in particular in island environments, where opportunities for species to disperse are limited, may become a serious threat to cold adapted alpine species.…
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Opportunities for modern genetic technologies to maintain and enhance Aotearoa New Zealand’s bioheritage

In the past few years genetic technologies springing from advances in DNA sequencing (so-called high-throughput sequencing), and/or from CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, have been proposed as…
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Consequences of space sharing on individual phenotypes in the New Zealand hihi

In heterogeneous habitats, individuals sharing a larger part of their home-range are also likely to live in a very similar environment. This ‘common environment’ effect…
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Centring Indigenous knowledge systems to re-imagine conservation translocations

Now more than ever, creative solutions that bring together diverse ways of knowing and seeing the world are needed to restore and enhance biocultural diversity…
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Embedding indigenous principles in genomic research of culturally significant species: a conservation genomics case study

Indigenous peoples around the world are leading discusions regarding genomic research of humans, and more recently, species of cultural significance, to ensure the ethical and…
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Little Adaptive Potential in a Threatened Passerine Bird

Threatened species face numerous threats, including future challenges triggered by global change. A possible way to cope with these challenges is through adaptive evolution, which…
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Can threatened species adapt in a restored habitat? No expected evolutionary response in lay date for the New Zealand hihi.

Many bird species have been observed shifting their laying date to earlier in the year in response to climate change. However, the vast majority of…
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