Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
When a guest walks around the Zoo, they squeal at the hippos, smile at the monkeys, but will rarely take note of the plants. At the San Diego Zoo, the horticulture team takes pride in their collection of rare and extremely well maintained plantlife. Thursday, we met with Horticulture Collection Manager Michael Letzring and Senior Horticulturist Judy Bell. Together, they shared their vast knowledge on flora and how San Diego Zoo Global horticulturists contribute to the conservation of animals, plants, humans, and the globe.
Vegetation largely affects the success of animal life in zoos. Horticulturists assist with exhibit design to help ensure the animals have a happy and healthy life. The huge success of the Zoo’s animal breeding program would not be what it is today if not for the skill of its horticulture teams. By working with animal specialists, Mr. Letzring and Ms. Bell create environments in animal exhibits that simulate natural animal instincts. (Mr. Letzring explained that the team often finds substitutes for foliage found normally in a wild ecosystem, since San Diego’s desert region is too stressful for most nonnative plants.) Through an understanding of how the environment affects animals’ breeding habits, plant specialists, like our speakers, put foliage in enclosures that is safe for animals to eat and can be played with, making animals more comfortable at the Zoo. When animals are comfortable it is more likely that they will reproduce. In the case of the sociable weaver birds we were shown, their enclosure had to have a variety of grasses and trees so they would have enough materials to build their large nests, which can weigh as much as one ton! As a means of socialization, breeding, and happiness, it is very important to have a great horticulturist working with keepers to preserve the species in captivity.
Plant conservation also helps the Zoo be a very sustainable place. One example of this is the bamboo grown throughout Zoo grounds, which is harvested and fed to the giant pandas, takins, and red pandas. Additionally, if a tree falls over and needs to be removed, the tree will be taken out of the ground and then reused as an enrichment item for many of the animals. Next time you go to the Zoo, look for those logs or branches in exhibits that may have been found living elsewhere previously.
Just like the fear of endangered animal extinction, there is the threat of plant extinction too. As mentioned, plants play a vital role in the lives of wild creatures in more ways than just food. It is up to humans to protect the plant life, and the Zoo has done so in many ways. One way they are preserving natural flora, Mr. Letzring proudly explained, is a new method of collecting data from “tissue culture.” Considering the practice as the future of plant conservation, Mr. Letzring assured us that “we [the San Diego Zoo] want to master that.” The procedure is original, in that researchers take only samples of tissue from wild plants and bring those back to labs for studying. Previously, the entire specimen would be taken from its environment. Mr. Letzring was adamant about how endangered plant species will benefit from not decreasing in population because they are being studied.
The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, together with several other organizations, is working to create a “seed bank” that will house a large collection of seeds from plants native to San Diego. These seeds will be used for both science and emergency preparedness. Ms. Bell informed us that as scientists perfect plants to meet certain aesthetics, or to have new functions, they weaken the original strand of the plant. Having the original strain of the plants in the bank allows researchers to learn more about plants by comparing the two. The seed bank also conserves the local flora and fauna. In a matter of cause and effect, the seed bank is essential in conserving all life in case of a serious drought or plant disease. For example, if a disease emerges in all of the local corn fields and there is no more corn, the rest of the food chain- including humans- will be greatly affected. Without corn, livestock won’t have a large food source and once they become ill, grocery stores won’t have any animal by-products to feed us. It is a great conservation tool of all local life to have a seed bank that can renew our crops in a disaster.
With a commitment to the plant collection, Mr. Letzring and Ms. Bell make the Zoo experience what it is today by creating ideal enclosures for the many breeding animals, supporting efficient research practices, and reusing plant material. Whenever guests next visit the Zoo, I hope they notice the importance of the beautiful flora around them, which create all the cute babies that we love to go and see.
Eliana, Conservation (Week 2)
