OUR NEW LOOK!
We’re celebrating an anniversary of 10 years here at PDXWildlife with our new 2021 logo.
Fulfilling our Dream
Back in 2011, PDXWildlife started as an aspiring group of conservationists with a love of wildlife, a penchant for research, and a dream to make an impact. Looking back over our accomplishments, it became clear, our efforts are finally paying off, and that dream is inching closer and closer every year!
10 Years of Success
Our research on mate choice has been foundational to the reproductive success we’ve seen in our partnering conservation programs. We graphed the impact our mate choice research has had over the years for both successful mating and increased babies!
The graph here shows the difference in breeding success between females that were given mate choice (light green bars) and those that had no choice (dark green bars) as well as the offspring production of females offered choice (light blue bars) and no choice (dark blue bars). Pretty exciting to see!
Over 10 years, PDXWildlife has helped 5 species return from the brink of extinction.
The Pandas
Back in 2011, we first touched ground in China to begin our mate choice work with the Giant Pandas. Little did we know how much impact it would have just ten years later!
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Increased Cub Production
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Increased Breeding Success
The Pygmy Rabbits
Our work on mate choice began first with Dr. Meghan Martin’s research with Pygmy Rabbits, the mating success she saw there soon led to the founding of PDXWildilfe.
It was also good news for the Pygmy Rabbits, as management programs now can release over 800 kits of thriving offspring a year!
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Increased Offspring Production
The Caribbean Island Iguanas
For the Caribbean, the Island Iguanas are a treasured, but severely threatened species. They are the largest land-dwelling animal for most of the islands, but their reproductive rates have been steadily declining over the last several years.
As one of the first mate choice research projects on breeding reptiles, our work has thankfully, provided some assistance to the iguanas. If they can socialize prior to mating, their success of breeding goes up by 52%! The future is looking much brighter for these, not so little, reptiles, now!
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Increased Offspring Production
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Increased Breeding Success
The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly
The Oregon Zoo’s Taylor Checkerspot Conservation Program dates back to 2008; however, mate choice had never been considered before! Working closely with them, we were able to investigate the factors that may be effecting the butterflies ability to successfully mate.
Turns out, the number of mates may have a significant effect on the success of breeding. Interestingly, there seems to be a ‘sweet’ spot for the number of mates. When females were given the chance to meet with 4-5 males, they had the highest success of copulating…they like a party, but definitely not a crowd!
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Reproductive Success
The Hawaiian ‘Akikiki
With less than 500 surviving, the Hawaiian ‘Akikiki is listed as a priority endangered species. Hawaiian conservation programs started back in 2016, but the ‘Akikiki severely struggled to reproduce in captivity. No baby birds were seen for nearly two years. Stepping in in 2018, we hoped some of our mate choice research and breeding techniques might prove successful.
Indeed they did! With the ‘Akikiki now successfully mating and producing thriving offspring, we hope for a swift recovery in 2021 and, eventually, a revival from the endangered status!
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Increased Offspring Production
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Increased Breeding Success
IN CELEBRATION!
In celebration of our anniversary, we specialized our calendars for 2021 with a special “Growing Up” theme. Each month features the growth of a panda cub from the little pinkie newborn, to a young, slightly still rolly-polly yearling!
Sincerely,
PDXWildlife Team