Exploring Serum Ferritin's Connection to the Acute Phase Response in Zoo-Managed African Rhinoceroses.

Despite serum ferritin's potential as an iron status indicator, its concentrations vary significantly throughout a black rhinoceros's (Diceros bicornis) life, sometimes irrespective of iron load. We explored acute phase response-related biomarkers, serum amyloid A (SAA) and ceruloplasmin (Cp), to better understand the mechanisms influencing serum ferritin changes in managed black rhinoceroses. The objective was to evaluate the relationships between circulating levels of ferritin, SAA, and Cp in black and white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum).

Oral administration of GnRH via a cricket vehicle stimulates spermiation in tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum).

More than 50% of caudates are threatened with extinction and are in need of ex-situ breeding programs to support conservation efforts and species recovery. Unfortunately, many salamander populations under human care can experience reproductive failure, primarily due to missing environmental cues necessary for breeding. Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are a useful suite of techniques for overcoming or bypassing these missing environmental cues to promote breeding.

Rhinoceros horn mineral and metal concentrations vary by sample location, depth, and color.

Poaching is again driving rhinos to the brink of extinction due to the demand for rhino horn products consumed for cultural, medicinal, and social purposes. Paradoxically, the same horn for which rhinos are killed may contain valuable clues about the species' health. Analyses of horn composition could reveal such useful bioindicators while elucidating what people actually ingest when they consume horn derivatives.

Development of a Micropropagation Protocol for the Ex Situ Conservation of Nuttall's Scrub Oak ().

Worldwide, oak species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, pathogens, and changing fire regimes. Ex situ conservation through tissue culture may protect the remaining genetic diversity of , or the coastal sage scrub oak, from further loss. We designed three basal salt formulations based on the mineral composition of shoot tips and first leaves from mature and explored carbohydrate source, stress-mitigating compounds, and plant growth regulator concentrations to develop a method of cultivating many culture lines in vitro.

A chromosome-scale fishing cat reference genome for the evaluation of potential germline risk variants.

The fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, faces a population decline, increasing the importance of maintaining healthy zoo populations. Unfortunately, zoo-managed individuals currently face a high prevalence of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), a form of bladder cancer. To investigate the genetics of inherited diseases among captive fishing cats, we present a chromosome-scale assembly, generate the pedigree of the zoo-managed population, reaffirm the close genetic relationship with the Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), and identify 7.

Plant Cryopreservation: Principles, Applications, and Challenges of Banking Plant Diversity at Ultralow Temperatures.

Progressive loss of plant diversity requires the protection of wild and agri-/horticultural species. For species whose seeds are extremely short-lived, or rarely or never produce seeds, or whose genetic makeup must be preserved, cryopreservation offers the only possibility for long-term conservation. At temperatures below freezing, most vegetative plant tissues suffer severe damage from ice crystal formation and require protection.

Durable contraception in the female domestic cat using viral-vectored delivery of a feline anti-Müllerian hormone transgene.

Eighty percent of the estimated 600 million domestic cats in the world are free-roaming. These cats typically experience suboptimal welfare and inflict high levels of predation on wildlife. Additionally, euthanasia of healthy animals in overpopulated shelters raises ethical considerations.

Rhinoceros serum labile plasma iron and associated redox potential: interspecific variation, sex bias and iron overload disorder disconnect.

A consequence of the poaching crisis is that managed rhinoceros populations are increasingly important for species conservation. However, black rhinoceroses (BR; ) and Sumatran rhinoceroses (SR; ) in human care often store excessive iron in organ tissues, a condition termed iron overload disorder (IOD). IOD research is impeded by the challenge of accurately monitoring body iron load in living rhinoceroses.

Non-invasive measurements of respiration and heart rate across wildlife species using Eulerian Video Magnification of infrared thermal imagery.

Background: An animal's metabolic rate, or energetic expenditure, both impacts and is impacted by interactions with its environment. However, techniques for obtaining measurements of metabolic rate are invasive, logistically difficult, and costly. Red-green-blue (RGB) imaging tools have been used in humans and select domestic mammals to accurately measure heart and respiration rate, as proxies of metabolic rate.

Assessing Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEAS) as a novel biomarker for monitoring estrus and successful reproduction in polar bears.

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the wild are under threat due to climate change, primarily loss of sea ice, and experience poor reproductive success in zoos. The polar bear is a seasonally polyestrous species that exhibits embryonic diapause and pseudopregnancy, complicating characterization of reproductive function. Fecal excretion of testosterone and progesterone have been studied in polar bears, but accurately predicting reproductive success remains difficult.

The challenge of assisted reproduction for conservation of wild felids - A reality check.

Threats to the Earth's biodiversity are increasing exponentially, driven by human population growth and resource consumption. As many as one million wildlife species may disappear within the next few decades due to this human-induced extinction event. This represents our current reality and has profound implications for wildlife conservation.

Harnessing the power of botanical gardens: Evaluating the costs and resources needed for exceptional plant conservation.

Premise: The effective ex situ conservation of exceptional plants, whether in living collections or cryo-collections, requires more resources than the conservation of other species. Because of their expertise with rare plants, botanical gardens are well positioned to lead this effort, but a well-developed strategy requires a clear understanding of the resources needed.

Methods: Grant funding was obtained from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to support a three-year project on cryobanking, and to provide smaller grants to 10 other botanical gardens for one-year projects on either (1) seed behavior studies or (2) the development of protocols for in vitro propagation or cryopreservation.

Improving culture initiation of mature oak shoots through use of silver thiosulfate.

Premise: Of the approximately 430 species of oaks ( spp.) that have been assessed, 31% are threatened with extinction and in need of safeguarding. However, oak seeds cannot be seed banked, and thus rely on alternative strategies such as in vitro culture for ex situ conservation.

Label-Free Quantification (LFQ) of Fecal Proteins for Potential Pregnancy Detection in Polar Bears.

Reliable pregnancy diagnostics would be beneficial for monitoring polar bear () populations both in situ and ex situ, but currently there is no method of non-invasive pregnancy detection in this species. Recent reports in several carnivore species described the identification of fecal proteins that may serve as pregnancy biomarkers; however, repeatability has been limited. The objective of the current analysis was to utilize an unbiased, antibody-free, label-free method for the identification and quantification of fecal proteins to determine if differences associated with pregnancy are detectable in polar bears.

The Tip of the Iceberg: Cryopreservation Needs for Meeting the Challenge of Exceptional Plant Conservation.

Cryopreservation is increasingly important as a conservation tool, particularly for threatened exceptional species. The goal of this study was to investigate the current knowledge of plant cryopreservation through a search of the literature in Web of Science and align that with the 775 species currently identified on the Working List of Exceptional Plants. While there is a good foundation in plant cryopreservation research, particularly with economically important species, there are significant gaps in research on families that contain the largest numbers of currently known exceptional species, including the Dipterocarpaceae, Rhizophoraceae, and Pittosporaceae.

Case Studies in Polar Bear () Sperm Collection and Cryopreservation Techniques.

Assisted reproductive technologies can aid conservation efforts via support of population management and preservation of genetic material. Data from 38 sperm collection attempts from 17 polar bears (1-5 procedures/bear) were evaluated. Sample collections were attempted via electroejaculation (EEJ; = 6), urethral catheterization (UC; = 25), or sperm rescue (SR; = 7) during the breeding season (Jan.

Comparative fecal steroid profile during pregnancy, parturition, and lactation between natural fertilization and embryo transfer in ocelots (Leopardus pardalis).

Despite the invaluable role that assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) play in conservation, pregnancy and parturition rates by embryo transfer (ET) are low for most endangered felids. Thus, efforts to expand the knowledge on pregnancy biology and ET are still required. In this context, we examined fecal sex steroid metabolites (i.

Incidence of pregnancy loss and characterization of fetal development in red pandas.

Unlabelled: Previous reports indicate that red pandas () may experience fetal loss during gestation; however, neither the rate nor timing of pregnancy failure has been described in this species. The objective of this study was to utilize ultrasound video and images collected between 2010 and 2020 at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to better characterize pregnancy loss and fetal development. Trans-abdominal ultrasound examinations were performed on six female red pandas over a 10-year period, resulting in 12 profiles.

Rhinoceros Serum microRNAs: Identification, Characterization, and Evaluation of Potential Iron Overload Biomarkers.

Iron overload disorder (IOD) in critically endangered Sumatran () and black () rhinoceros is an over-accumulation of iron in organs which may exacerbate other diseases and indicate metabolic disturbances. IOD in rhinos is not well understood and diagnostics and therapeutics are limited in effectiveness. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs capable of altering protein synthesis.

Shoot Tip Cryopreservation as a Conservation Tool for Species of Quercus: Effects of Species and Environment on Recovery.

Background: The seeds of oak (Quercus) species cannot be conserved in conventional seed banks and require cryobiotechnologies for long-term, ex situ conservation.

Objective: To evaluate shoot tip cryopreservation as a method for conserving oaks ex situ.

Materials And Methods: Droplet vitrification was tested on tips from shoot cultures of four oak species; the effects of three preculture and recovery growth conditions on survival and growth were tested with Q.

Research inequity in the plant sciences.

Do all plant biologists worldwide have equal access to novel methods, enabling them to be equally productive, publish, and receive credit for their research? Or does reduced access to cutting-edge techniques in countries with lower financial resources create an inequity for researchers located there? Such disparities and biases do exist within our discipline and must be addressed if we are to move forward as a more just society. has taken steps to address this important issue of research inequity, as outlined below. We now call upon the entire botanical community-researchers, editors and reviewers, funding agencies, and publishers-to work together toward a more equitable environment for all researchers around the world.

Cross-species efficacy of a chemically-defined, soy lecithin-based cryomedium for semen banking in imperiled wild felids.

Felid semen has historically been frozen using an egg yolk-based cryopreservation medium. However, the use of egg introduces several potential concerns, such as variability in composition, microbial contamination, and regulatory issues. In the present study, our aim was to compare a chemically-defined, soy-based medium (SOY) to a commercial egg yolk-based medium (TEY) for the cryopreservation of sperm in four imperiled small cat species.

Anti-Müllerian hormone in managed African and Asian rhino species.

Serum collected across the lifespan of four managed rhino species: black (Diceros bicornis, n = 16), white (Ceratotherium simum simum, n = 19), greater one-horned (GOH, Rhinoceros unicornis, n = 11) and Sumatran (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, n = 6) were validated and analyzed in an anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) enzyme- linked immunoassay. Concentrations of AMH were examined over time, between sexes and throughout different reproductive states which included n = 3 female white rhinos immunocontracepted with porcine zona pellucida (pZP). Across species, males produced higher AMH concentrations compared to females.