Abstract
The Orokonui Ecosanctuary is a 307-hectare forest north of Dunedin, which is surrounded by a predator-proof fence. This predator exclusion project aims to provide a safe area for native New Zealand species to thrive, to improve the biodiversity of the region and to gain knowledge and understanding of this diversity. The aims of this study are to catalogue the fungi found at Orokonui, identify their roles in the environment, and compare fungal sampling methods.
Chapter one of this study explores the current literature on the fungi of New Zealand and their roles in carbon sequestration, nutrient uptake, and the food chain to demonstrate the importance of studying this kingdom. Also analyzed in this chapter is the literature on using the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region to determining fungal species diversity and the FUNGuild database for identifying the ecological function of fungi. Finally in this chapter, the results of studies on fungi in other protected areas are used to show that unexpected, interesting, and undescribed species can potentially be discovered from documenting fungi at Orokonui.
Chapter two shows the results of a fungal survey at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary. DNA barcoding using the ITS region is used to identify fungi collected from Orokonui. A combination of nBLAST searches and phylogenetics are used to determine the identities of these fungi as accurately as possible. The fungal genus Cortinarius is found to be most often collected from the Orokonui Ecosanctuary. Some species of fungi identified in this chapter are recorded in New Zealand for the first time, including some undescribed species.
Chapter three uses the results of the fungal survey along with next-generation sequencing data from takahē dung and the FUNGuild database to determine the environmental roles of Orokonui fungi. Fungi in takahē dung are found to be much more diverse, in both species and functional diversity. The use of both fungal collections and takahē dung fungi is recommended for future studies of fungi at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.