#TIL "This breeding season, one egg from each entirely infertile clutch will be used for ongoing research looking at microscopic fertility. The others will be kept for use as stand-in eggs on Whenua Hou, helping us further understand the risk to eggs from petrel disruption."
This is so cool.
Three decades ago, we had no idea about the kakapo mating system, assumed to be monogamous for life like most parrots. It's not! (lek system)
This year, we learned that females can mate and breed successfully as young as four years of age, surprisingly early for such long-lived birds (average life expectancy of 60 years).
#Kakapo are* the only species whose every single adult has had their genome sequenced**.
It makes them some sort of model organism, though not in the common use of the term...
*(to my knowledge, please correct if necessary)
**(at what coverage? not sure)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_j3aaEfvJI
