Acknowledgements
Thanks to the Operation Nest Egg projects that contributed samples to our study, Rainbow Springs Nature Park, Rotorua; West-Coast Wildlife Centre, Franz Joseph, and the rangers of Paparoa National Park. Especial thanks to Claire Travers for her constant support and input to the project. Thanks to Nikki Minards and the Manawatu Microscopy Centre for producing the scanning electron microscopy images. Especial thanks to Aryaman Parulkar and Lucas Mugnier who aided in the cutting, staining, and preparing of samples for various experiments and observations. Funding from Security for Iconic Species: Kiwi Rescue’ MBIE Programme C09X1609 supported IC.