Endanger Animal

Vol. 7, No.2 21 srm ART ad Ama W hen it comes to reproduction, many o the world’s endangered animals are not unlike inertile couples struggling to con- ceive. Beore the problem o achieving conception and ull-term delivery can be solved, under- lying ertility issues need to be studied a nd assessed. Animal research parallels many o the same processes used while investigating human inertility issues, such as genetic diversity, sperm characteristics, estrogen surges, using resh or rozen sperm, and even diet and mood swings in these animals. The case studies pre- sented in this article describe how genetic management and assisted reproductive technology (ART) have been instrumental in helping scientists address reproductive problems in several endangered animals—Florida pan- thers, giant pandas, black-ooted errets, ocelots, and clouded leopards. Gt dvrty ma ppat A key actor in ensuring the continued survival o endangered animals is genetic management. It is important that an animal living in captivity has the same amount o genetic diversity as its counterpart living in the wild. This can be dicult because scientists almost always work with small populations o animals that are geo- graphically dispersed across zoological collections or ragmented habitats. T he overriding concerns are sexual incompatibility, inbreeding, loss o heterozygosity, and expression o deleterious alleles. These species present special challenges to managers ranging rom being t imid to dangerous to sel-destructive, even homicidal. The key is ensuring that animals with the correct (out bred) geno- type breed together to retain heterozygosity. Although numerous ART techniques are available to preserve and genetically manage giant pandas and other wildlie, the ones used most oten are “low-tech,” Rg dagr d a ma w th at d r prdt v t hgy Davd Wdt, PhD Snior Scintist, Cntr or Spcis Surviv Consrvtion nd Rsrch Cntr Smithsonin Ntion Zooogic Prk Front Roy, Virgini Genetic management and assisted reproductive technology are saving animals on the brink of extinction © 2 0 0 9 C a R l M e N Z To wtch th compt vido wbcst nd rd th ccompnying trnscript, og on to www.srm-journ.com. DisclosuRe: Dr Widt hs no conicts o intrst to discos.

Endanger Animal

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