FINDINGS
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) protects and restores nature in eight conservation hubs on six continents. Below are recent discoveries and progress from around the world. GREEN STATUS OF SPECIES REFLECTS CONSERVATION ACTION
The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Green Status of Species (GSS) is a new global conservation standard that measures species recovery in response to conservation action, or lack thereof. The GSS represents the first standardized method to assess the success of current conservation efforts and their continued potential. A recent publication tested the GSS framework by analyzing the status of 181 species. The publication was a collaboration among over 200 global authors; SDZWA scientist Tandora Grant contributed analysis for the critically endangered Jamaican rock iguana Cyclura collei. Previously thought to have gone extinct in the mid-1940s, this iguana was rediscovered in 1990 and has since been the subject of intense conservation efforts.
NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MERCURY TESTING
One of the current threats to the Peruvian Amazon ecosystem is intense artisanal gold mining, which uses mercury to extract gold dust. That mercury is released into the environment and bioaccumulates in wildlife and humans, which can cause harm to reproduction, immune function, and the nervous system. Testing for mercury can be expensive and challenging, creating barriers to monitoring mercury in wildlife and the environment. SDZWA scientist Caroline Moore, DVM, Ph.D., traveled to Peru and successfully tested 223 biological samples using the Runabout: a handheld mercury analyzer prototype developed by mercury monitoring company Picoyune. Scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Laboratory at Los Amigos Biological Station will continue to test wildlife samples for mercury, pairing genomic biodiversity and disease screening with toxicology testing.
SAN DIEGO ZOO POLAR BEARS ADVANCE CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGY
4 / SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE JOURNAL / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
PHOTOS BY: KEN BOHN /SDZWA; TAMMY SPRATT/SDZWA
Polar bears at the San Diego Zoo will be helping test an innovative new technology for attaching tracking sensors, nicknamed “Burr on Fur.” Scientists have developed a small, noninvasive, and nontoxic tracking device that temporarily attaches to bear fur. Our polar bears, along with those at eight other zoos, will be testing out the tracking attachments. Testing the devices in zoos allows conservation scientists to observe how the prototypes are affected by different temperatures, seawater, and interaction with other bears. If successful, the devices may be used to track polar bears in the Arctic—and could even be used to study and protect other wildlife worldwide. This study is led by our partners, Polar Bears International, in collaboration with 3M.
