News Release

Coprolites reveal bird roles in ecosystems

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Moa Coprolite

image: This is a Moa coprolite partially excavated from the dry sediment, which buried and helped preserve it for centuries. Dart River Valley, New Zealand. view more 

Credit: PNAS

DNA analysis of samples of ancient dung, known as coprolites, illuminates ecosystem roles once played by extinct and critically endangered flightless birds in New Zealand, according to a study. Coprolites provide clues to how species loss affects ecosystems by preserving records of past interactions of extinct and endangered species. Alexander Boast and colleagues sequenced DNA from 23 coprolite samples from four species of giant extinct moa and the endangered kakapo parrot at eight sites on New Zealand's South Island, ranging in age from 124 to 1,557 years. High-throughput sequencing of the eukaryotic DNA preserved in the coprolites revealed previously unknown aspects of the birds' dietary behavior, including the consumption of ferns and mosses by moa and the consumption of plant-symbiotic fungi by both moa and kakapo. The detection of fungal DNA suggests that highly colored plant-symbiotic fungi in New Zealand, now a key component of forest ecosystems, were adapted for dispersal by ground-dwelling birds. The authors also found diverse parasite taxa and species-specific assemblages in the coprolites, suggesting a long history of co-evolution and high co-extinction between parasite and bird species. According to the authors, the results demonstrate how high-throughput sequencing of coprolites can complement fossil analysis in illuminating the functioning of paleoecosystems.

Article #17-12337: "Coprolites reveal ecological interactions lost with the extinction of New Zealand birds," by Alexander Boast, Laura S. Weyrich, Jamie R. Wood, Jessica L. Metcalf, Rob Knight, and Alan Cooper.

MEDIA CONTACT: Alexander Boast, Landcare Research, Lincoln, NEW ZEALAND; tel: +64274775230; e-mail: <apboast@gmail.com>; Alan Cooper, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, Adelaide, AUSTRALIA; tel: +61406383884; e-mail: <alan.cooper@adelaide.edu.au>

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