When I visited the Reproductive Physiology division of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES), I was interested and motivated by their work. The subject was right up my alley and gave me an appreciation for the research side of conservation. We met with Dr. Barbara Durrant and two of her colleagues, one who works with bears and the other with kiwi birds. They told us they do not have a job, but rather a lifestyle. Their careers are a practical way to use their amazing levels of knowledge for reproducing endangered species.

Thomas Spady, Ph.D., shared with us his research with bears. It saddened me to hear that of the eight species of bears, only two were not endangered; one of those species, the polar bear, is close to being endangered. This fact has complicated his research because there really are only two species that he can use for studies. His main goal at the moment is to chart the estrous cycle of the American black bear. The American black bear can serve as a model for endangered bears. To track the cycle, he must be able to measure the levels of estrogen hormones in the bear. The most accurate and reliable way is to take blood, but this would require sedation, which is harmful to the bears. Dr. Spady had to find other ways of measuring estrogen such as urine and fecal samples. It’s easier to collect those samples and harmless for the bear. The bear can be trained to urinate on command for a urine sample. For a fecal sample, Dr. Spady can either follow the bear around until it goes, or get close enough to a male to ” scare it out of him.” (I think being within arms reach of a black bear would be pretty scary for the researcher, too.) This whole ordeal serves as a good example of the creativity involved in this career, and all of this is just to get the raw material needed for the study. Dr. Spady still has to analyze the samples by doing an assay to measure the levels of estrogen metabolites. The levels are graphed and can be used to determine when the bear can become pregnant, and even to tell if the animal is pregnant.

Thomas Jensen, Ph.D., showed us the obstacles he faces in facilitating the reproduction of the endangered kiwi bird. Right now he is working on kiwi genetics and analyzing microsatellite DNA. Microsatellite DNA is a repeating sequence at a specific location on a chromosome, and looking at mircrosatellites is a way to identify different individuals. This is important as some of the birds in captivity came directly from the wild where their lineages are unknown. Related birds should not be bred, and by looking at the microsatellites their relationships could be determined and better mate matches could be made if necessary.

In addition to getting an in-depth look at one division of CRES, the interns were also taken on a tour of the new Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research. The facility is truly state of the art, most likely the most technologically advanced in the United States. It contains the Frozen Zoo® which houses tissue samples in liquid nitrogen, which is more energy efficient and effective than freezers. There are labs for every division of CRES, each with its own specialty room specific to that division. For instance, the reproductive physiology lab housed a room for sperm and a different room for eggs, and another for reproductive tracts secured through necropsy (the equivalent of an animal autopsy). The building also has two Level 3 labs, accessible only by a few people with high-level security cards because of their pathogenic contents (viruses and other disease-causing agents). Another facet of the Center is the library, usable by all Zoo staff, and one of about twelve zoo libraries in the world. Although only Zoo employees can enter the library, some of the library’s books are available through inter-library loans. The building and careers are truly a dream come true for any conservation scientist.

The trip to the reproductive physiology division gave me a better look at what I would like to study in college. I met people that had similar interests to mine and enjoyed their enthusiasm over their study. It was also interesting to be inside their labs, where I got a feel for what state-of-the-art looks like in a research lab. Although I do not see myself being a reproductive physiologist, it is a similar field to what I hope to work on.

Contributed by Erin — Zoo InternQuest Careers Team

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