ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF DESLORELIN ACETATE IMPLANTS (SUPRELORIN) IN ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT SITES.

Captive breeding and reintroduction programs are making a significant contribution to the survival of several endangered species. We demonstrated that the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) can be maintained within a captive breeding program at Perth Zoo, Australia, for the purposes of release. We found that females have one litter per year but can be mated two or three times in the breeding season if they fail to conceive or lose their young. The mean (±s.e.m.) interval between mating in polyoestrous females is 25.2 ± 1.6 days. Males show spermatorrhoea with development of secondary sexual characteristics in the breeding season between November and late February.

Female mate choice significantly increases captive breeding success, and scents can be frozen to determine choice, in the stripe-faced dunnart

We review the state of African ungulate taxonomy over the last 120 years, with an emphasis on the introduction of the polytypic species concept and the discipline's general neglect since the middle of the 20th century. We single out negative consequences of 'orthodox' taxonomy, highlighting numerous cases of neglect of threatened lineages, unsound translocations that led to lineage introgression, and cases of maladaptation to local conditions including parasitic infections. Additionally, several captive breeding programmes have been hampered by chromosome rearrangements caused by involuntary lineage mixing. We advocate that specimen-based taxonomy should regain its keystone role in mammal research and conservation biology, with its scientific values augmented with genomic evidence. While integration with molecular biology, ecology and behaviour is needed for a full understanding of ungulate alpha diversity, we stress that morphological diversity has been neglected despite its tremendous practical importance for some groups of 'utilizers' such as trophy hunters, wildlife tourists and conservationists. We conclude that there is no evidence that purported 'taxonomic inflation' has adverse effects on ungulate conservation: rather, it is taxonomic inertia that has such adverse effects. We stress that sound science, founded on robust taxonomy, should underpin effective sustainable management (hunting, ranching, captive breeding and reintroduction programmes) of this unique African natural resource.

Pacing from the right ventricular apex (RVA) in patients with ventricular dysfunction has been identified as a possible contributor to deterioration of ventricular function. Therefore, alternative pacing sites such as the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) are receiving intensified scrutiny. An unresolved question is whether technical, procedural, and stability issues are comparable for the RVA and the RVOT. This report details 460 consecutive ventricular pacing lead implants with the primary intended site in the RVOT. Patients were evaluated for success, complication rates, and followed-up for stability of pacing parameters. The total patient implant population included 300 male and 170 female patients with a mean age of 70.6 years. Ten patients were excluded from the analysis, since there was a primary indication and intention to implant in the RVA, leaving a total of 460 patients for analysis. The indications for pacing were symptomatic bradycardia due to any cause and/or Mobitz II or complete heart block. There was no clinical evidence of heart failure in 420 patients. In 40 patients with heart failure, the indication for pacing was cardiac resynchronization therapy using the RVOT as an alternate site when pacing from a branch vein of the coronary sinus was not possible. Outcome information was obtained from the implanter's clinic. The overall success rate in the RVOT was 84% over the total 9-year period with a 92% success rate in the last 4(1/2) years, using the RVOT technique described. At 20 months in a subgroup comparison of RVOT and RVA implants, there was no significant difference in pacing threshold, R-wave sensing, or pacing lead impedance. Dislodgment occurred in only 1 of 460 patients. Reasons for failure to implant in the RVOT include inability to find a stable position with adequate pacing and sensing thresholds (related to anatomy, scarred myocardium, pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid regurgitation), hemodynamic instability limiting time for implant, and a learning curve. Long-term stability and lead performance were excellent, and certain acute and chronic complications of RV pacing did not occur.

Current status and future directions of applied behavioral research for animal welfare and conservation

Growing deterministic and stochastic threats to many wild populations of large vertebrates have focused attention on the conservation significance of captive breeding and subsequent reintroduction. However, work on both gorillas and black rhinos questions this shift in emphasis. In these species, field-based conservation can be effective if properly supported and, although this is not cheap, per capita costs may still be considerably lower than for ex situ propagation in captivity. Here we attempt to broaden the scope of this debate by contrasting the breeding success and costs of in situ and captive programmes for a range of threatened mammals. Data are scarce, but we find that across nine large-bodied genera, in situ conservation achieves comparable rates of population growth to those seen in established captive breeding programmes. Moreover, comparing budgets of well-protected reserves with zoos' own estimates of maintenance costs and the costs of zoo adoption schemes, we find that per capita costs for effective in situ conservation are consistently lower than those of maintenance in captivity. Captive breeding may be more cost-effective for smaller-bodied taxa, and will often remain desirable for large mammals restricted to one or two vulnerable wild populations. However, our results, coupled with the fact that effective in situ conservation protects intact ecosystems rather than single species, lead us to suggest that zoos might maximize their contribution to large mammal conservation by investing where possible in well-managed field-based initiatives, rather than establishing additional ex situ breeding programmes.

For the past 15 years zoos and related institutions have increasingly become involved in the captive breeding of endangered animal species. Prerequisites to the success of captive propagation as part of the conservation of biodiversity are optimal achievements at three levels: that of individuals, which should be guaranteed long lives of sufficient quality; that of pairs and groups, which should reproduce sufficiently to guarantee continuity over the generations; and that of populations, which should be kept genetically and demographically healthy. Achievement of these goals requires co-operative management of zoo populations of the species concerned and appropriate population management procedures. Such procedures will depend upon the development of a sound theoretical basis for understanding the genetics and demography of small (and fragmented) populations, of ‘tools’ to bring theory into practice, and of organizational structures to implement management proposals. At each of these three levels considerable progress has been made in recent years. Theoretical knowledge has advanced and continues to be refined. A whole array of ‘tools’ has been developed in the form of computer software for keeping records, compiling studbooks, performing genetic and demographic analyses etc. Such tools enable population managers to formulate master plans for population management. Within the community of zoos and related institutions organizational structures have been set up for co-operative propagation of endangered species, involving a system of regional breeding programmes. Currently 175 such programmes are being conducted in the various regions of the world. In the past five years IUCN/SSC’s Captive Breeding Specialist Group has become increasingly involved in these programmes as a coordinating body. This has led to three important developments.

There is a growing awareness in the scientific research community of the role that zoological institutions can play in the conservation of threatened or endangered species. Zoos themselves have changed and become more focussed on the contributions they can make to regional conservation objectives, driven in part by the "World Zoo Conservation Strategy" published in 1993. Perth Zoo has committed itself to this strategy and established a collaborative scientific research program with Conservation and Land Management (CALM), WA, to develop captive breeding techniques for a number of Western Australian native species. To achieve this objective, the zoo has established a sub-program known as the Native Species Breeding Program. This consists of 6 specialist keepers who are charged with developing specialised skills in captive husbandry of selected species, and the implementation of research projects. All of the species under study are part of recovery plans, and many of the species are being produced for release under the objectives of those plans and as part of CALM's "Western Shield Project". Mammal species under study are the Numbat, Chuditch, Dibbler, Djoongari (Shark Bay Mouse) and the Wopilkara (Greater Stick Nest Rat). Currently, Chuditch, Numbats and Djoongari bred in captivity have been the subject of re-introduction programs. The results of these breeding programs and the subsequent releases of selected species into different habitats in Western Australia will be presented, along with a discussion of the issues which relate to the limitations of captive breeding as a conservation tool.

In recent years, more detailed genetic information has become available for individuals of endangered species in captive breeding programs. There have been suggestions that this information be used to identify rare alleles, particularly those at the MHC, that can be subsequently selected for captive breeding programs. First, we summarize the current information on the MHC relevant to conservation genetics, so that such a possible breeding program is seen in a proper perspective. For example, very few specific alleles at the MHC have been identified as selectively advantageous, even though there has been substantial effort to find such alleles in humans and a few other organisms. Further, many of the balancing selection models suggested for MHC variation are based on heterozygotes in general having a higher fitness than homozygotes and not on specific selectively advantageous alleles. Because there is no detailed data on MHC variability in captive populations, we used transferrin data in Przewalski's horses to evaluate a breeding program to select for rare alleles. In this species, one individual, 1060, has been identified to have the transferrin allele J. We determine the effect on founder contribution of multiply mating 1060 to increase the number of copies of this allele. Since there were 485 individuals in the population at this time, this extra mating had little detrimental effect on the distribution of founder contributions and the number of founder equivalents. We then selected 65, an ancestor of 1060, which had a high likelihood of being the individual that passed on the J allele in the lineage of 1060. We examined the effect of increasing the number of copies of alleles of 65 at a time when the population had only 22 other individuals. In this case, even though the founder contributions were changed more, there was also little effect on the founder contributions and the number of founder equivalents. Overall, it appears that selection that results in a limited change in the number of copies of rare alleles may not always have an overall detrimental effect. However, because other pedigrees may have very different properties, it is essential to perform a detailed pedigree analysis of any such selective breeding program to determine its effect before such a selection program is implemented.

Canadian Contraception Consensus (Part 2 of 4).

Simple SummaryThe Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni), or Mediterranean tortoise, is one of the two native species of terrestrial tortoises that inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. This is a vulnerable species protected by legislation and subjected to conservation and captive breeding programs. The present study is the first to simultaneously evaluate the four-season variations in corticosterone and total triiodothyronine in semi-captive adults and juvenile individuals of Western Hermann’s tortoises (T. hermanni hermanni). The current investigation revealed that corticosterone concentrations changed seasonally depending on the sex, whereas total triiodothyronine changed seasonally in both sexes. Juvenile individuals did not show seasonal variations in any of the evaluated hormones. Overall, this study adds evidence and provides novel information about the seasonal variations in corticosterone and total triiodothyronine in adult and juvenile individuals of this protected species.The Mediterranean tortoise Testudo hermanni inhabits different regions bordering the northwestern Mediterranean. This species is vulnerable, protected by legislation, and involved in various breeding and reintroduction programs. Wild populations face numerous environmental and anthropogenic stressors that can potentially interfere with their conservation. While seasonal changes in stress-response biomarkers, such as glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones, have been widely studised in mammals and birds, there is a paucity of research in reptile species. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the seasonal fluctuations in corticosterone and total triiodothyronine levels in adult and juvenile Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) as a measure of the physiological stress response. Blood samples were collected seasonally (winter, spring, summer, and autumn) and posteriorly analyzed by using a specific and validated enzyme immunoassay for both hormones, respectively. The results showed that corticosterone levels varied seasonally and differed between sexes, whereas total triiodothyronine levels changed seasonally but did not differ between sexes. Notably, juveniles exhibited no seasonal changes in either corticosterone or total triiodothyronine levels. Additionally, no correlation between blood extraction duration and hormonal concentrations was observed. This study is pioneering in its comprehensive evaluation of corticosterone and total triiodothyronine changes across all four seasons, including winter, and its focus on juvenile Hermann’s tortoises.

If it hasn’t failed, does it work? On ‘the worst we can expect’ from observational trial results, with reference to airway management devices

Many populations of endangered species are subject to recurrent introductions of individuals from an alternative setting where selection is either relaxed or in a direction opposite to that in the natural habitat. Such population structures, which are common to captive breeding and hatchery programs, can lead to a scenario in which alleles that are deleterious (and ordinarily keptat low levels) in the wild can rise to high frequencies and, in some cases, go to fixation. We outline how these genetic responses to supplementation candevelop to a large enough extent to impose a substantial risk of extinction for natural populations on time scales of relevance to conservation biology.The genetic supplementation load can be especially severe when a captive population that is largely closed to import makes a large contribution to the breeding pool of individuals in the wild, as these conditions insure thatthe productivity of the two-population system is dominated by captive breeders. However, a substantial supplementation load can even develop when the captive breeders are always derived from the wild, and in general, a severe restriction of gene flow into the natural population is required to reduce this load to an insignificant level. Domestication selection (adaptation to the captive environment) poses a particularly serious problem because it promotes fixations of alleles that are deleterious in nature, thereby resulting in a permanent load that cannot be purged once the supplementation program is truncated. Thus, our results suggest that the apparent short-term demographic advantages of a supplementation program can be quite deceiving. Unless the selective pressures of the captive environmentare closely managed to resemble those in the wild, long-term supplementation programs are expected to result in genetic transformations that can eventually lead to natural populations that are no longer capable of sustaining themselves.

Efforts to protect nature is one of the main things and is quite important in order to maintain all levels of life in this universe. Conservation of nature is the main thing that is most influential for humans to survive, but as time goes by, the existence of nature is increasingly threatened. Preserving nature can be done in situ and ex-situ. One of the efforts in preserving nature ex-situ can be done with captivity efforts so that it can overcome the level of extinction. The research was carried out using a descriptive method with a cross-sectional approach in several stages, namely the interview was conducted by giving several questions to the respondents in the form of a questionnaire and there were 25 women and 36 men as respondents who gave opinions regarding the management of deer breeding and the use of venison. in West java. The results of interviews conducted from 61 respondents produced the following data, namely 67.2% agreed about the captive breeding program, 59% of people were interested in the captive breeding program as a tourist attraction, 70.5% of people admitted that deer meat could be consumed, 80.3% claimed that they had never consumed venison, 21.3% knew the benefits of venison, 42.6% admitted that they knew the law regarding illegal deer capture and 24.6% admitted that they knew the law regarding illegal hunting. This research is expected to be a reference for captive managers in Wana Wisata to obtain information about the success of deer breeding and the potential use of deer meat.

Amphibians around the world are declining from threats that cannot currently be mitigated, making it impossible to safeguard some species in their natural habitats. Amphibians in the mountainous neotropics are one example where severe disease-related declines prompted calls for the establishment of captive assurance colonies to avoid extinctions. We surveyed experts in Panamanian amphibians to determine the probability of avoiding chytridiomycosis-related extinctions using captive breeding programs. We ranked Panamanian amphibian species by perceived susceptibility to chytridiomycosis, then calculated the likelihood of avoiding extinction as the product of three probabilities, which include (1) finding sufficient founder animals, (2) successfully breeding these species in captivity and (3) becoming extinct in the wild. The likelihood of finding enough animals to create a captive founding population was low for many rare species, especially for salamanders and caecilians. It was also low for frogs which were once regularly encountered, but have already disappeared including Atelopus chiriquiensis, Craugastor emcelae, C. obesus, C. punctariolus, C. rhyacobatrachus, Ecnomiohyla rabborum, Isthmohyla calypsa and Oophaga speciosa. Our results indicate that captive breeding could improve the odds of avoiding extinction for species that have severely declined or are likely to decline due to chytridiomycosis including Atelopus certus, A. glyphus, A. limosus, A. varius, A. zeteki, Anotheca spinosa, Gastrotheca cornuta, Agalychnis lemur and Hemiphractus fasciatus. Priority species that experts predicted were highly susceptible to chytridiomycosis that might also benefit from ex situ management include Craugastor tabasarae, C. azueroensis, C. evanesco, Strabomantis bufoniformis and Colostethus panamansis. In spite of high levels of uncertainty, this expert assessment approach allowed us to refine our priorities for captive amphibian programs in Panama and identify priority conservation actions with a clearer understanding of the probability of success.