Kia ora #TuahiwiSchool - you might know that your DNA 🧬 is what makes you unique. Did you know 🧬 can also help us save endangered birds like #KākārikiKaraka? Just like you, each bird in the forest has different 🧬 from its neighbours. The more differences, the more the birds can survive and thrive! 🧡
Illustration of kākāriki karaka and kākāriki kōwhai, labelled 'Species 1' and 'Species 2' respectively, and a dividing line in the middle. A DNA strand for each is shown underneath a magnifying glass, revealing that each species is genetically distinct from one another.
#TuahiwiSchool – do you know what makes a species unique? It’s a tricky question, but here's one answer: if we look at the DNA🧬 of #KākārikiKaraka and #KākārikiKōwhai, we see each species has differences that can change how the birds look and behave. Naming species📝 can help us to take care of them.
An illustration of kākāriki karaka and kākāriki kōwhai side-by-side, along with a karaka and kōwhai plant. Text on the bottom reads: "Can you spot the difference?"
#TuahiwiSchool: #KākārikiKaraka and #KākārikiKōwhai love to hang out🧡💛. Sometimes they like each other so much they have babies together—but 99 times out of 100, they’ll choose to have babies with their own kind. These birds look pretty similar, so it’s amazing how they can tell each other apart! 🦜🦜
A picture of two kākāriki karaka next to two paint tubes, where the paint is mixing together to create a new colour. The paint tubes have DNA helices on them to represent how mixing genetically different populations results in hybrid offspring with a combination of DNA from each population.
Kia ora #TuahiwiSchool - how can we look after #KākārikiKaraka? Not many of these sweet birds are left in the wild, but by borrowing eggs 🥚 from different places and helping the babies grow up together, we can mix the DNA from these places. We expect mixed whānau to be extra healthy + happy! 🦜🐣🎨
Here is the #Kōwaro in question! Only found in a few select rivers where wetlands used to be, these guys can use every bit of our help to get back on track! Source: https://shorturl.at/d2YNQ
Kia ora koutou #TuahiwiSchool! Our special #Taonga fellows like the #Kōwaro🐟 can survive better if we keep 🧬genetic diversity high! It helps them out as it stops useful traits from being lost due to #NaturalSelection, keeping them able to respond to big changes better!
