嘿嘿视频

10 Animals 嘿嘿视频 Is Working to Save

Using Science to Save Wildlife Facing Extinction

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Family of mountain gorillas
Critically endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo receive veterinary care from The Gorilla Doctors, a partnership between 嘿嘿视频 Wildlife Health Center and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. They're just some of the animals 嘿嘿视频 is using helping to protect. Gorilla Doctors/嘿嘿视频 photo

Quick Summary

  • 嘿嘿视频 scientists are working to save Pacific fishers, white abalone, mountain gorillas and more to protect animals from extinction
  • The world鈥檚 No. 1 School of Veterinary Medicine is a major player, with researchers working at the teaching hospital on campus and in the animals鈥 habitats
  • Researchers in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are providing the scientific basis for species protection, be they fish or fowl

嘿嘿视频 scientists don鈥檛 just study animals. Often, they save them. They鈥檙e putting on gloves to carefully wash gooey oil from sea birds鈥 wings. They鈥檙e breeding Amargosa voles after their desert habitat dried up. They鈥檙e following mountain lions into the hills of Southern California to track their genetic decline and overall health.

It鈥檚 work befitting the world鈥檚 No. 1 School of Veterinary Medicine, which saves thousands of animals each year, whether at its teaching hospital on campus or in the forests of Africa.

It also highlights the expertise of the university鈥檚 s, whose researchers often provide the scientific basis for species protection, be they fish or fowl.

Whether dressing wounds or turning science into policy, 嘿嘿视频 research plays a key role in protecting animals from species extinction.

 

 Veterinarians bolstering mountain gorilla health

Baby mountain gorilla
Baby mountain gorillas like Nyanjura, above, receive veterinary care in the wild from Gorilla Doctors, co-led by 嘿嘿视频 and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. (Gorilla Doctors/嘿嘿视频 photo)

In the 1980s, fewer than 300 mountain gorillas remained in the world, due mostly to heavy hunting. Now, conservation efforts have bolstered their numbers to about 880 individuals. With , 嘿嘿视频 is helping their continued recovery. Co-led by the and the nonprofit Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, provides veterinary care to wild mountain and eastern lowland gorillas living in the national parks of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The group also researches mountain gorilla genetics and other factors that could contribute to their decline.

Spawning a new generation of white abalone 

Juvenile white abalone bred at 嘿嘿视频 Bodega Marine Laboratory
Juvenile white abalone are being bred at the 嘿嘿视频 Bodega Marine Laboratory. (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频 photo)

Everything from the smooth voice of Barry White to 鈥渕ood lighting鈥 has been used to help establish a captive breeding population of endangered white abalone at the . In 2012, the matchmaking scientists announced the first successful spawning of the species in nearly a decade. Over the past few years, they鈥檝e reported continued success. If the population ever fully recovers and we finally get to eat them again 鈥 they are said to be delicious 鈥 we鈥檒l have 嘿嘿视频 largely to thank.

Pacific fishers threatened by rat poisoning

Pacific fisher
Pacific fishers are being threatened by rodenticides used at illegal marijuana grows. (Bethany Weeks photo via USFS Region 5)

嘿嘿视频 scientists were the first to link rat poisoning used at illegal marijuana grows to fatal poisonings of Pacific fishers, a member of the weasel family. That and subsequent research was reviewed as part of a to list the West Coast population under the federal Endangered Species Act as a threatened species. The on April 14, 2016 that the fisher will not be listed. 

Tracking genetic diversity of Southern California mountain lions

Southern California mountain lion
Freeways and other human development are isolating Southern California mountain lions, threatening their genetic diversity and population. (嘿嘿视频 photo)

Wildlife veterinarians with the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center are investigating the Southern California cougar and its dramatic decline. Mountain lions cut off from each other by freeways and human development, particularly in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains, are facing a severe loss of genetic diversity that could ultimately affect their survival as a species. 嘿嘿视频 research is helping inform management decisions about how to protect, monitor and connect this population.

Breeding an icon, the Delta smelt

Delta smelt
This Delta smelt is one of thousands bred at the 嘿嘿视频 Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory. (Joe Proudman/嘿嘿视频 photo)

Even before the current drought, this little endangered fish has been caught in a battle about water 鈥 and who should get it 鈥 in California. , 嘿嘿视频 fish biologist Peter Moyle that the state should prepare for the Delta smelt鈥檚 extinction in the wild 鈥 the state trawl survey at the time found only six smelt where there normally would have been hundreds. were again the lowest in history. Meanwhile, the 嘿嘿视频 Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory is breeding thousands of them in captivity, preserving their genetic diversity and providing a supply for scientific research 鈥 and one level of protection against species extinction.

Helping California condors get the lead out

California condor
California condors, the largest flying bird in North America, are recovering from the brink of extinction, but threats of lead poisoning persist. (Terra Kelly/嘿嘿视频 photo)

Scientists from the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center working with state agencies showed that lead from ammunition was poisoning carrion-eating birds, including endangered California condors. The birds famous for their 10-foot wingspan, if not their faces, are scavengers. They feast on the carcasses and gut piles of animals killed with lead shot, which fragments on impact and can quickly enter the condors鈥 bloodstreams. The work has been instrumental in providing the scientific incentive for a broad statewide ban on lead ammunition, enacted in 2013.

Rescue, breed, release: Amargosa voles

Amargosa vole
This was one of the first Amargosa voles bred as part of 嘿嘿视频' captive breeding program. (Don Preisler/嘿嘿视频 School of Veterinary Medicine photo)

Only a few hundred Amargosa voles remain in rare marshes of the Mojave Desert. When extreme drought threatened to dry up their limited habitat in 2014, a team of researchers from 嘿嘿视频, and state and federal agencies rescued 20 of the endangered little critters and brought them to 嘿嘿视频 to begin a captive breeding program, which continues today. In June 2015, 12 Amargosa voles were , marking the first release of captive-bred voles into the wild since they were listed as an endangered species more than 30 years ago.

Survey led to endangered listing for tricolored blackbird

Male tricolored blackbird
Male tricolored blackbird sits on a tule stem. (Alan Vernon/Flickr photo/Creative Commons License)

A coordinated by 嘿嘿视频 showed in 2014 that the tricolored blackbird was in startling decline. Its numbers dropped from 400,000 birds in 2008 to about 145,000 in 2014. The birds are most threatened when fields of a grain called triticale, where they nest, are harvested. A few months after the survey results were announced, the California Fish and Game Commission granted the bird temporary  due to its sharp decline. The status of the species is currently under review, and the Commission is expected to vote on the petition for listing under the California Endangered Species Act in 2017.

Outfoxing ear tumors on Catalina Island 

Male Santa Catalina Island fox
An endangered male fox on Santa Catalina Island. (Julie Lynn King/Catalina Island Conservancy photo)

嘿嘿视频 scientists studying endangered foxes on California鈥檚 Catalina Island published  in 2015 showing that more than half of those examined had tumors in their ears. Nearly all of the foxes were infected with ear mites, a predisposing factor to the tumors. Luckily for the foxes, the researchers also found what appears to be a solution. In a , they showed that treatments of acaracide, commonly used to kill ear mites in cats and dogs, reduced the ear mites dramatically, from 98 to 10 percent. Other signs of developing ear tumors also dropped at the same time.

Helping endangered species reproduce

African lion stretching
An African lion stretches. (Yathin S. Krishnappa/photo Wikimedia Commons)

Mexican wolves, African painted dogs, and an African lion are just some of the endangered animals , assistant professor of population health and reproduction, has helped in his travels to zoos and wildlife sanctuaries throughout the United States. A reproduction specialist with the 嘿嘿视频 School of Veterinary Medicine, he鈥檚 assisted facilities like the Bronx Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo and Wolf Haven International with fertility problems in endangered animals. 

Media Resources

Kat Kerlin, 530-750-9195, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu

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