The Development of Contraceptive Methods for Captive Wildlife

Contraception has become critical in managing zoo populations, both to limit production of surplus animals and to promote genetic health. One role of the Contraception Advisory Group, formed in 1989, is to coordinate research to develop new contraceptive methods. Because melengestrol acetate (MGA) implants, which have been used by zoos for almost 20 years, recently have been associated with uterine pathology in felids, several new contraceptive techniques are being evaluated. These include other steroid hormone formulations, such as the birth control pill Depo-Provers®, the Norplant® implant, and MGA added to feed; bisdiamine, an oral male contraceptive; zona pellucida (ZP) vaccine; and vas plugs. Bisdiamine reversibly blocked spermatogenesis while sparing testosterone in its first test in gray wolves. ZP vaccine has been effective in preventing births in a variety of species of hoofstock, primates, and carnivores; however, long-term deleterious effects on the ovaries have been found in some controlled trials. Injectable vas plugs that conform to the shape of the vas make it possible to successfully treat a wide variety of species; reversal trials are currently underway. As research efforts continue, we hope to expand our collaborations with scientists working on contraceptive development for humans. companion animals and wildlife. to better make use of the limited resources available for these investigations

The Development of Contraceptive Methods for Captive Wildlife

Contraception has become critical in managing zoo populations, both to limit production of surplus animals and to promote genetic health. One role of the Contraception Advisory Group, formed in 1989, is to coordinate research to develop new contraceptive methods. Because melengestrol acetate (MGA) implants, which have been used by zoos for almost 20 years, recently have been associated with uterine pathology in felids, several new contraceptive techniques are being evaluated. These include other steroid hormone formulations, such as the birth control pill Depo-Provers®, the Norplant® implant, and MGA added to feed; bisdiamine, an oral male contraceptive; zona pellucida (ZP) vaccine; and vas plugs. Bisdiamine reversibly blocked spermatogenesis while sparing testosterone in its first test in gray wolves. ZP vaccine has been effective in preventing births in a variety of species of hoofstock, primates, and carnivores; however, long-term deleterious effects on the ovaries have been found in some controlled trials. Injectable vas plugs that conform to the shape of the vas make it possible to successfully treat a wide variety of species; reversal trials are currently underway. As research efforts continue, we hope to expand our collaborations with scientists working on contraceptive development for humans. companion animals and wildlife. to better make use of the limited resources available for these investigations

Studies of wolf x coyote hybridization via artificial insemination

Following the production of western gray wolf (Canis lupus) x western coyote (Canis latrans) hybrids via artificial insemination (AI), the present article documents that the hybrids survived in captivity for at least 4 years and successfully bred with each other. It further reports that backcrossing one of the hybrids to a male gray wolf by AI also resulted in the birth of live pups that have survived for at least 10 months. All male hybrids (F1 and F2) produced sperm by about 10 months of age, and sperm quality of the F1 males fell within the fertile range for domestic dogs, but sperm motility and morphology, in particular, were low in F2 males at 10 months but improved in samples taken at 22 months of age. These studies are relevant to a long-standing controversy about the identity of the red wolf (Canis rufus), the existence of a proposed new species (Canis lycaon) of gray wolf, and to the role of hybridization in mammalian evolution

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

AZA Wildlife Contraception Center Programs

Controlling reproduction is a responsibility facing both zoo and wildlife managers, and contraception is one of their options. However, management goals and parameters affecting administration of contraceptives vary considerably for free-ranging and captive wildlife. Captive breeding programs consider the entire captive population but manage at the level of the individual. Not only must they focus on the genetic value of individual animals, but each birth results in an animal that will require resources and occupy limited space for its lifetime. Thus, captive programs dictate that contraceptive be virtually 100% effective, safe, and reversible. This contrasts with management of most free-ranging animals, where reproductive rate of the population, not each individual, is the measure of success. The other notable distinction is ease of delivery in captive populations, perhaps the greatest challenge with free-ranging animals. Captive animals are always accessible, are individually known, and can be monitored. Yet, despite these differences, zoo and wildlife biologists can benefit from collaborative efforts, especially when they target the same species. In particular, trials with captive animals can provide more definitive results than comparable studies with free-ranging animals. In addition, we all face the problems inherent in programs that represent a limited commercial market. Improved communication and exploring the potential for collaborations may accelerate our progress

AZA Wildlife Contraception Center Programs

Controlling reproduction is a responsibility facing both zoo and wildlife managers, and contraception is one of their options. However, management goals and parameters affecting administration of contraceptives vary considerably for free-ranging and captive wildlife. Captive breeding programs consider the entire captive population but manage at the level of the individual. Not only must they focus on the genetic value of individual animals, but each birth results in an animal that will require resources and occupy limited space for its lifetime. Thus, captive programs dictate that contraceptive be virtually 100% effective, safe, and reversible. This contrasts with management of most free-ranging animals, where reproductive rate of the population, not each individual, is the measure of success. The other notable distinction is ease of delivery in captive populations, perhaps the greatest challenge with free-ranging animals. Captive animals are always accessible, are individually known, and can be monitored. Yet, despite these differences, zoo and wildlife biologists can benefit from collaborative efforts, especially when they target the same species. In particular, trials with captive animals can provide more definitive results than comparable studies with free-ranging animals. In addition, we all face the problems inherent in programs that represent a limited commercial market. Improved communication and exploring the potential for collaborations may accelerate our progress

Production of Hybrids Between Western Gray Wolves and Western Coyotes

Using artificial insemination we attempted to produce hybrids between captive, male, western, gray wolves (Canis lupus) and female, western coyotes (Canis latrans) to determine whether their gametes would be compatible and the coyotes could produce and nurture offspring. The results contribute new information to an ongoing controversy over whether the eastern wolf (Canis lycaon) is a valid unique species that could be subject to the U. S. Endangered Species Act. Attempts with transcervically deposited wolf semen into nine coyotes over two breeding seasons yielded three coyote pregnancies. One coyote ate her pups, another produced a resorbed fetus and a dead fetus by C-section, and the third produced seven hybrids, six of which survived. These results show that, although it might be unlikely for male western wolves to successfully produce offspring with female western coyotes under natural conditions, western-gray-wolf sperm are compatible with western-coyote ova and that at least one coyote could produce and nurture hybrid offspring. This finding in turn demonstrates that gamete incompatibility would not have prevented western, gray wolves from inseminating western coyotes and thus producing hybrids with coyote mtDNA, a claim that counters the view that the eastern wolf is a separate species. However, some of the difficulties experienced by the other inseminated coyotes tend to temper that finding and suggest that more experimentation is needed, including determining the behavioral and physical compatibility of western gray wolves copulating with western coyotes. Thus although our study adds new information to the controversy, it does not settle it. Further study is needed to determine whether the putative Canis lycaon is indeed a unique species

SUGGESTIONS REGARDING ALCOHOLIC BIRD COLLECTIONS

One third of the known species of birds are unrepresented in alcoholic collections and nearly 70% of the rest are represented by 10 or fewer specimens (Wood et al. 1982, Zusi et al. 1982). Simply put, existing anatomical specimens do not meet present and future research needs and . .. the situation must be corrected (Jenkinson and Wood 1985:587). Actually, current alcoholic specimen resources may be even worse than indicated by Wood et al. (1982), despite commendable recent improvements. Here, we argue the urgent need for additional alcoholic specimens, stressing in particular quality of fixation, the importance of series, documentation of treatment history, and the role of object conservators in the biological museum environment. Biological collection management lags behind that of art, anthropological, and historical collections. For the sake of a fundamental and irreplaceable ornithological resource, we urge that this gap be closed