Transcript Zoos and Gardens

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Part III: Maintaining
biodiversity
Zoos & Gardens and the role of captive
breeding
Zoos
Zoos & Gardens are not new!
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As early as 2500 B.C., nobility
started to accumulate exotic
animals.
Early explorers encountered
menageries in the New World,
bringing home all sorts of weird
and wonderful creatures like
anteaters and sloths.
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In Mexico, Cortez marveled at
Montezuma's zoo, where
handmade bronze cages housed
jaguars and pumas.
Early husbandry
Keepers had no knowledge of animal husbandry =
easier to replace lost animals from wild stocks
than cultivate them in zoos
Animals in captivity
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3.
Few social stimuli for group
animals held singularly or in
such confined areas.
Enforced idleness results in
wild animals developing
abnormal behavior patterns
such as zoochotic behaviors,
apathy or self-mutilation.
Also lose the skills needed to
survive in the wild.
Pre-1950’s
Post 1970’s…
Other Improvements
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By the 1950's veterinary medicine
came of age
Newly developed tranquilizing drugs
= previously unmanageable animals
could be diagnosed and treated
safely
More congenial surroundings, better
health and good nutrition made for
healthier animals = much greater
tendency to breed!
Other developments in 1960’s and
1970’s
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Despite better displays at the
more progressive zoos,
humane groups became vocal
critics of poor conditions in
many zoos.
Zoos were the initial focus of
animal rights proponents
Questioned the ethics of
keeping animals at all
Plus, what were zoos going to
do with all these captive-bred
animals?
Voila! The Zoo & Garden as “Ark”
Concept
Recent “Concept” behind Modern
Zoos and Gardens
Plants and animals can be returned to
their native haunts when two basic
conditions are met:
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the world's spiraling human population, the
main cause for the destruction of animal
habitats, has stabilized and
the art of habitat restoration and
reintroduction has been perfected
!
Predicated upon…
a noble cause, with
2. technology to the rescue,
with
3. a predicted happy ending
= A public-relations bonanza
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The first bad news...
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In 1979, scientists compared records of
animals born of related parents with
those born to unrelated parents.
Inbreeding had some devastating
effects.
Severely inbred white tiger
Implications of Ralls and Ballou’s
work...
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Zoos anticipate holding species for a
century or more
But with only small numbers of each
species to begin with
Inevitably after a few years, close
relatives would be breeding with each
other
Intense selection also occurs
Genetic Effects of Captive
Breeding Cause a Rapid,
Cumulative Fitness Decline in
the Wild
SSP’s as a response...
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To minimize inbreeding, zoos came up with
an elaborate computerized mating system
known as the Species Survival Plan, or
SSP.
Based on extremely complex studbooks or
pedigree records
ISIS, the International Species Inventory
System, manages information on ~10,000
taxa in 500 zoos
SSP’s are great, but...
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Consider all the species that need
SSPs--orangutans, gorillas, tigers,
snow leopards, rhinos, golden lion
tamarins and more.
Each species and subspecies needs
some 75 to 500 individuals to form
an adequate breeding pool.
For big animals like Siberian tigers
and Asian lions, the space
requirements are staggering.
Limits to SSP’s
Estimated that the zoo “ark” has
room for < 1,000 of the 20,000plus mammals, birds, reptiles and
amphibians.
U.S. zoos have space to manage
long-term breeding programs for
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about 141 of the world's 8,600 bird
species
only 16 of the world's 2,500 snake
species
Surplus animals...
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About three-quarters of all the
space allocated for tigers in North
American zoos is filled by
surplus animals.
Most zoos use separation and
contraceptive implants to control
breeding and limit surplus
Controversies: Zoo Costs
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2.
One successful in vitro fertilization
for a gorilla, for instance, could
cost as much as $75,000.
Attracts a lot of media attention,
but little else.
To have pandas, must make a $1 million annual payment to China -- plus a one-time
$600,000 payment for each cub born -- goes to conservation programs there???.
Cloning to the rescue?
First cloned endangered species dies 2
days after birth (gaur, Indian bison)
Reverse
evolution?
Turn cows back
to aurochs…
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Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica),
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one of the two extinct subspecies of Spanish Ibex.
last one found dead on January 6, 2000
first taxon ever to become "un-extinct"
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Cloned from nuclei from frozen tissue of last dead
female into goat ovum
for a period of seven minutes in January 2009, a
cloned female Ibex was born alive before dying
from breathing difficulties
Thylacine
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Ethanol preserved
fetus
$170,000 so far
“It would be immoral
not to try” Mike
Archer
See a thylacine:
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Thyl
acinus_cynocephalus/more_moving_images.html
Will woolly mammoths live
again?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051220/MAMMOTH20
/TPScience/
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SCIENCE REPORTER
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Scientists have sequenced part of the genome of a woolly mammoth that
died 28,000 years ago, a discovery that raises the possibility of bringing the
extinct ice age mammals back from the dead.
Hendrik Poinar, a molecular evolutionary geneticist at McMaster University
in Hamilton, says ancient DNA obtained from the jawbone of a long-dead
Siberian woolly mammoth could be used create a modern version of the
animal.
He and his U.S. colleagues won't be able to clone the female that was found
frozen in the permafrost because the DNA they obtained was fractured into
so many tiny fragments. But they could create a hybrid of the woolly
mammoth and its closest living relative, the Indian elephant. Once
researchers have made male and female hybrids, they could breed the
animals to obtain as pure a woolly mammoth as possible.
"In theory, you could do it," Dr. Poinar says.
The Ark on the rocks?
The issues…
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Rapidly increasing numbers of
endangered species,
Limited zoo capacity,
Lack of habitat for reintroduction as well
as technical difficulties,
Expense
How practical is captive breeding
anyway?
Sumatran rhinos as a flash point
Highly endangered because of hunting
and poaching
~200 in the wild (2000)
38 captured for captive-rearing
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15 have died
Only a handful have bred
Many millions spent
What if this money had been spent on
habitat, capacity building, and antipoaching?
Consider black rhinos inequities
regarding in situ versus ex situ
conservation
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In 1980 wildlife authorities in all the
sub-Saharan African countries had an
annual budget of about $75 million
the San Diego Zoological Society had
an annual budget of about $70 million!
Redefining the Ark Concept...
In response to changing public
attitudes and rapidly worsening
environmental conditions, zoos
are increasingly deciding to focus
on:
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field conservation
education
research
Zoo-Field Connection
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Many zoos adopt foreign parks
and funnel money to them.
New York's Wildlife
Conservation Society has
helped found more than 110
parks and reserves around the
world.
Zoos and influence, education and $$$
Visitation:
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Every year over 100 million people
visit North American zoos.
More people visit zoos in the US
than attend all professional sporting
events
Worldwide, some 1,000 zoos attract
600 million visitors--nearly 10
percent of the world's population.
Funding:
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At the San Diego zoo, sales of
rubber snakes = $14,000/year, all of
it used for habitat protection in Peru
Zoos and the future: a modest but
significant contribution...
1.
Zoo propagation can probably aid the
survival of 15 percent or more of all the
terrestrial vertebrates likely to become
extinct in the next century
Aquaria
Aquaria
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Much less successful than
zoos in propagating
threatened species
Despite the large numbers of
freshwater species
threatened and that many of
them take up very little
space.
Some efforts for propagating
the cichlids of Lake Victoria,
the desert fishes of North
America, and Appalachian
stream fishes
Botanical Gardens
Botanic Gardens
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Much easier and cheaper to maintain captive
populations of plants than animals.
Hundreds of species of plants can be kept in a
small botanic garden
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require less care,
do not require cages,
mating can be arranged more easily,
can be vegetatively propagated
can easily be stored during their dormant seed stage.
Botanic Gardens continued
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The world's roughly 1500 botanic gardens
together contain at least 35,000 plant species
or > 15% of the world's flora.
Seeds of many plant species, especially
those with dry, small seeds, can be stored at
low temperatures for long periods with little
loss of viability.
Some issues in plant storage
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Orthodox seeds usually maintained at 5%
humidity and -20oC.
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A small seed storage facility can easily store
thousands of such species.
E.g., a 2,000 year old Judean date palm seed was
successfully sprouted in 2005!
Recalcitrant seeds do not survive well in
storage
Other plants that can only be propagated
vegetatively (not via seeds).
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Seed viability does decline,
especially without
cryopreservation
Periodically growing out is done
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The role of botanic gardens in conservation
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pull seeds from storage,
grow new plants,
harvest seeds,
re-freeze them...expensive and time-consuming
is already larger and
growing very rapidly
…with research into storage techniques,
better data collection and better
coordination.
Reintroductions
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…the follow-up to captive breeding
Reintroductions
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People love to
reintroduce species a very romantic
notion
Some spectacular
successes -- e.g.,
games animals in the
Northeast US,
including wood duck,
wild turkey, whitetailed deer
Rescued siberian tiger being
released (WCS)
The ideal…Pere David’s Deer
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An Asian deer with a tufted tail and big feet,
extinct in the wild for 800 years before
reintroduced.
Originally lived in swamps in northeast China
Became extinct in nature when these
swamps were drained for agriculture during
the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.).
Pere David’s Deer
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Discovered by Pere David in the Hunting
Park in Beijing
Sent 18 of them sent back to some European
zoos.
In 1894, the stock in China was completely
lost
Worldwide the zoo population is now up to
over 1400, all descended from Pere David's
18 animals.
Pere David’s Deer
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In 1964 the London zoo sent four of the deer
to the Peking zoo, after the species had been
gone from China for almost 50 years.
In 1985, more were sent and released into a
China's Dafeng reserve.
reached 516 in 2001!
Now three populations, all successfully
reproducing
The reality…
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Most are reintroductions are failures
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Of 80 translocations of endangered birds and
mammals, 44% were successful
Of 407 attempts with desert fishes, 26% were
successful
Of 15 plant translocations in California, only 4
succeeded
Setting Aims
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The principal aim of any re-introduction should be to
establish a viable, free-ranging population in the
wild, of a species, subspecies or race, which has
become globally or locally extinct, or extirpated, in
the wild.
Should occur within the species' former natural
habitat and range and should require minimal longterm management.
Identification and elimination, or
reduction to a sufficient level, of
previous causes of decline
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Has the release site undergone substantial
degradation caused by human activity?
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If so, a habitat restoration program should be
initiated before the re-introduction is carried
out.
Has another species filled the void created
by the loss of the species concerned?
Taxonomic Issues
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What is the taxonomic status of individuals to be
re-introduced?
Should be the same subspecies or race as those
which were extirpated, unless adequate numbers
are not available.
Similar ecological characteristics (morphology,
physiology, behavior, habitat preference) to the
original sub-population.
A study of genetic variation within and between
populations of this and related taxa can also be
helpful.
Pinta Island Tortoises
Vital information for plants
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Biotic and abiotic habitat
requirements,
Dispersal mechanisms,
Symbiotic relationships (e.g.
with mycorrhizae, pollinators),
Insect pests and diseases
Vital information for animals
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Habitat preferences,
Intraspecific variation and
adaptations to local
ecological conditions,
Social behavior/group
composition,
Home range size,
Shelter and food
requirements,
Predators and diseases.
Other considerations
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Are there potential migratory/movement
areas at the release site?
http://www.bnl.gov/esd/reserve/Hogno
se_Radio_Telemetry.htm
Disease issues
If “transhipments” are involved, stock
must meet all health regulations
prescribed by the veterinary
authorities of the recipient region
 Adequate provisions must be made for
quarantine if necessary.
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Stock must be aversive to human
contact
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Care should be taken to ensure that
potentially dangerous captive bred animals
(such as large carnivores or primates) are
not overly confident
In the presence of humans they might be a
danger to local inhabitants, their livestock,
and/or themselves
Cranes
Determination of release strategy, e.g.,
“hard” versus “soft” releases
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“Toss ‘em out” (“hard”) versus
(“soft”):
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acclimatization of release stock to
release area,
behavioral training - including hunting
and feeding;
group composition,
number,
release patterns and techniques
timing
:Hard Release
Soft Release:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND LEGAL
REQUIREMENTS
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A thorough assessment of attitudes of local
people and laws
The program should be fully understood,
accepted and supported by local communities.
Professional training of individuals involved in
the long-term program
Public relations through the mass media and in
local community;
Involvement where possible of local people in
the program
Be cautious of motivations for reintroductions/translocations
Rather than culling overabundant
populations, wildlife managers often
resort to translocating individuals to
other parts of their range
 Release of confiscated animals
 Translocation of endangered
populations out a site slated for
development
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POST-RELEASE ACTIVITIES
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Post-release monitoring is required of
all (or sample of) individuals, perhaps
through tagging and telemetry or
indirect methods
Was it successful?
End – captive
breeding/reintroduction
Addendum…
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THE JAGUAR
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The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun.
The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut
Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut.
Fatigued with indolence, tiger and lion
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Lie still as the sun. The boa constrictor's coil
Is a fossil. Cage after cage seems empty, or
Stinks of sleepers from the breathing straw.
It might be painted on a nursery wall.
But who runs like the rest past these arrives
At a cage where the crowd stands, stares, mesmerized,
As a child at a dream, at a jaguar hurrying enraged
Through prison darkness after the drills of his eyes
On a short fierce fuse. Not in boredom The eye satisfied to be blind in fire,
By the bang of blood in the brain deaf the ear He spins from the bars, but there's no cage to him
More than to the visionary his cell:
His stride is wildernesses of freedom:
The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel.
Over the cage floor the horizons come.
- Ted Hughes