Abstract
Fungi are an incredibly crucial part of biotic communities and rely on a wide variety of abiotic and biotic dispersal strategies in order to thrive, survive and colonise new locations. Vectored dispersal of fungi by birds globally and by the endemic organisms of New Zealand has rarely been studied. In this thesis, I investigate Porphyrio hochstetteri (South Island takahē) as a potential fungal disperser by collecting dung samples from individuals at Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin over several months at two different sites. I utilised next-generation sequencing of the fungal ITS2 region to demonstrate that takahē are engaging in mycophagy. Many different fungal taxa were identified, and these were analysed using the FUNGuild database in order to determine the functional guilds into which they fit. The largest taxon identified from the phylum Basidiomycota was the ectomycorrhizal family Cortinariaceae. Ectomycorrhizal amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were discovered in 32.5% of all dung samples collected. Also found within the dung were sequences of ectomycorrhizal sequestrate fungi from genera Cortinarius, Descomyces and Hysterangium. The discovery of these ectomycorrhizal fungi is incredibly important because they form symbiotic associations with the roots of certain New Zealand plants (Nothofagus, Leptospermum, Kunzea and Pomaderris), trading nutrients and sugars and shaping plant communities. The findings in this thesis contribute to our understanding of the fungal community present at Orokonui Ecosanctuary and may support the theory that endemic birds, such as takahē, may play an undervalued role in the dispersal of valuable fungi throughout different ecosystems in New Zealand.