Direct and indirect impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity conservation.

The world's biodiversity is in crisis. Synthetic biology has the potential to transform biodiversity conservation, both directly and indirectly, in ways that are negative and positive. However, applying these biotechnology tools to environmental questions is fraught with uncertainty and could harm cultures, rights, livelihoods, and nature.

The Pacific Biosciences assembled genome dataset from a parthenogenetic New Zealand wild population of the longhorned tick, Neumann, 1901.

The longhorned tick, , feeds upon a wide range of bird and mammalian hosts. Mammalian hosts include cattle, deer, sheep, goats, humans, and horses. This tick is known to transmit a number of pathogens causing tick-borne diseases, and was the vector of a recent serious outbreak of oriental theileriosis in New Zealand.

Spatial utilization predicts animal social contact networks are not scale-free.

While heterogeneity in social behaviour has been described in many human contexts it is often assumed to be less common in the animal kingdom even though scale-free networks are observed. This homogeneity raises the question of whether the patterns of behaviour necessary to account for scale-free social contact networks, where the degree distribution follows a power law, i.e.

Introduction of a male-harming mitochondrial haplotype via 'Trojan Females' achieves population suppression in fruit flies.

Pests are a global threat to biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human health. Pest control approaches are thus numerous, but their implementation costly, damaging to non-target species, and ineffective at low population densities. The Trojan Female Technique (TFT) is a prospective self-perpetuating control technique that is species-specific and predicted to be effective at low densities.

Is Avian Malaria Playing a Role in Native Bird Declines in New Zealand? Testing Hypotheses along an Elevational Gradient.

The mosquito-borne disease avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) has impacted both captive populations and wild individuals of native New Zealand bird species. However, whether or not it is a cause of concern to their wild populations is still unclear.

Sex difference in the survival rate of wild brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) experimentally challenged with bovine tuberculosis.

The main wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in New Zealand is the introduced brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), with spillover of infection from possums to livestock being regarded as the largest barrier to eradicating TB from the country. Past studies have experimentally challenged possums with Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of TB) to quantify infection parameters. However, the challenge models used are invariably non-representative of natural infection due to their resulting in much faster rates, and different clinical patterns of disease progression.

Discovery and complete genome sequence of a novel circovirus-like virus in the endangered rowi kiwi, Apteryx rowi.

Circoviruses are circular, non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA viruses around 2000 nucleotides (nt) in length and include the pathogenic species, Porcine circovirus 1 and Beak and feather disease virus, capable of causing significant morbidity and mortality. This group of viruses may be robust to degradation by external environments, and avian circoviruses are known to move between closely related hosts. Using a de novo metagenomic approach, followed by confirmatory PCR, we identify for the first time a circular Rep-encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA virus in New Zealand kiwi, Apteryx spp.

The Trojan Female Technique for pest control: a candidate mitochondrial mutation confers low male fertility across diverse nuclear backgrounds in Drosophila melanogaster.

Pest species represent a major ongoing threat to global biodiversity. Effective management approaches are required that regulate pest numbers, while minimizing collateral damage to nontarget species. The Trojan Female Technique (TFT) was recently proposed as a prospective approach to biological pest control.

Discovery of novel virus sequences in an isolated and threatened bat species, the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata).

Bats harbour a diverse array of viruses, including significant human pathogens. Extensive metagenomic studies of material from bats, in particular guano, have revealed a large number of novel or divergent viral taxa that were previously unknown. New Zealand has only two extant indigenous terrestrial mammals, which are both bats, Mystacina tuberculata (the lesser short-tailed bat) and Chalinolobus tuberculatus (the long-tailed bat).

Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife: a critical perspective.

We review the literature to distinguish reports of vertebrate wildlife disease emergence with sufficient evidence, enabling a robust assessment of emergence drivers. For potentially emerging agents that cannot be confirmed, sufficient data on prior absence (or a prior difference in disease dynamics) are frequently lacking. Improved surveillance, particularly for neglected host taxa, geographical regions and infectious agents, would enable more effective management should emergence occur.

Piroplasms of New Zealand seabirds.

Blood and ectoparasitic ticks were collected from migratory seabirds in New Zealand, including Australasian gannets (n = 13) from two sites and red-billed gulls (n = 9) and white-fronted terns (n = 2) from a third location. Blood smears were screened for parasite presence by microscopy, while DNA from blood samples was subjected to PCR for the presence of tick-transmitted protozoan haemoparasites belonging to the order Piroplasmida. Parasites were identified by comparing small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rDNA) gene sequences to related sequences on GenBank.

New alphacoronavirus in Mystacina tuberculata bats, New Zealand.

Because of recent interest in bats as reservoirs of emerging diseases, we investigated the presence of viruses in Mystacina tuberculata bats in New Zealand. A novel alphacoronavirus sequence was detected in guano from roosts of M. tuberculata bats in pristine indigenous forest on a remote offshore island (Codfish Island).

Relative competence of native and exotic fish hosts for two generalist native trematodes.

Exotic fish species frequently acquire native parasites despite the absence of closely related native hosts. They thus have the potential to affect native counterparts by altering native host-parasite dynamics. In New Zealand, exotic brown trout Salmo trutta and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss have acquired two native trematodes (Telogaster opisthorchis and Stegodexamene anguillae) from their native definitive host (the longfin eel Anguilla dieffenbachii).

Exploring the potential for Ross River virus emergence in New Zealand.

Ross River virus (RRV) is an exotic vector-borne disease considered highly likely to emerge as a future human health issue in New Zealand, with its range expansion from Australia being driven by exotic mosquito introduction and improving conditions for mosquito breeding. We investigated our ability to assess the potential for such emergence using deterministic modeling and making preliminary predictions based on currently available evidence. Although data on actual mosquito densities (as opposed to indices) were identified as a need for predictions to be made with greater confidence, this approach generated a contrasting prediction to current opinion.

The Trojan female technique: a novel, effective and humane approach for pest population control.

Humankind's ongoing battle with pest species spans millennia. Pests cause or carry disease, damage or consume food crops and other resources, and drive global environmental change. Conventional approaches to pest management usually involve lethal control, but such approaches are costly, of varying efficiency and often have ethical issues.

Sustained protection against tuberculosis conferred to a wildlife host by single dose oral vaccination.

Background: Vaccination of wildlife against bovine tuberculosis (TB) is being considered by several countries to reduce the transmission of Mycobacterium bovis infection to livestock. In New Zealand, where introduced brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) are the major wildlife hosts, we have previously shown that repeat applications of a lipid-encapsulated oral bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine reduce the incidence of naturally acquired TB in wild possums. Here we extend this conceptual demonstration to an operational level, assessing long-term protection against TB conferred to free-living possums by a single oral immunisation.

Pododermatitis in captive-reared black stilts (Himantopus novaezelandiae).

A potential cause of pododermatitis ("bumblefoot") was investigated in captive-reared juvenile black stilts at the Department of Conservation "Kaki Recovery Program" at Twizel, New Zealand. To address the importance of substrate, the development of clinical signs in individuals was compared among aviaries that contained rubber matting and/or salt footbaths, and controls. No effect of either experimental manipulation of the environment was apparent on pododermatitis development.

Presence and seasonal prevalence of Plasmodium spp. in a rare endemic New Zealand passerine (tieke or Saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus).

The conservation and management of Saddlebacks (Philesturnus carunculatus) and other New Zealand birds, currently relies on the translocation of individuals to predator-free sites. Avian malaria has been identified as one of the diseases to be tested for prior to translocations in New Zealand, with the aim of translocating disease-free individuals. We describe avian malaria lineages and their seasonal prevalence in 2007-2008 in Saddlebacks from Mokoia Island, a source of birds for translocations, and investigate their pathogenicity.

Wildlife diseases: from individuals to ecosystems.

1. We review our ecological understanding of wildlife infectious diseases from the individual host to the ecosystem scale, highlighting where conceptual thinking lacks verification, discussing difficulties and challenges, and offering potential future research directions. 2.