Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation

Reproductive biology is more than the development of techniques for helping with too little or too much breeding. While some of the relevant techniques are useful for individual species, technical developments have to be backed up by thorough biological understanding of the background behind the problems. This book is therefore threefold; (1) it provides a snapshot of the state of the art in terms of species-specific reproductive technologies, whether for individual animals or whole taxonomic groups; (2) it sets the reproductive problems in context and emphasizes the links between animal-based problems and the wider world, e.g. reproductive fitness and (3) it looks forward and presents realistic assessments of how effective some of the more recently developed techniques in reproductive technology might be at combating extinctions. This is a wide-ranging book that will be relevant to anyone involved in reproductive biology or in species conservation and provides provide them some useful perspectives about the real utility of current and emerging technologies. It has contributions from experts in reproduction and related fields.

Provides a snapshot of state of the art species-specific reproductive technologies

Foreword - Richard Black Introduction: Reproductive science as an essential component of conservation biology - William V. Holt, Janine Brown, Pierre Comizzoli "Mayday Mayday Mayday", the millennium ark is sinking! - Steve Monfort Climate change, extinction risks, and reproduction of terrestrial vertebrates - Cynthia Carey Impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals on reproduction in wildlife - Emmelianna Kumar, William V. Holt The role of genomics in conservation and reproductive sciences - Warren Johnson, Klaus Koepfli The epigenetic basis of adaptation and responses to environmental change: perspective on human reproduction - Agustín F. Fernández, Estela García Toraño, Rocío González Urdinguio, Abel Gayo Lana, Ignacio Arnott Fernández, Mario F. Fraga The Black-footed Ferret: On the Brink of Recovery? - Rachel M. Santymire, Travis M. Livieri, Heather Branvold-Faber, Paul E. Marinari Comparative reproductive biology of elephants - Janine Brown The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): A case study in the development of reproductive technology in a marsupial - Stephen D. Johnston, William V. Holt Reproduction and Advances in Reproductive Studies in Carnivores - Katarina Jewgenow, Nucharin Songsasen Methods to examine reproductive biology in free-ranging, fully-marine mammals - Janet M. Lanyon, Elizabeth A. Burgess Amphibian declines in the 21st century: Why we need assisted reproductive technologies - John Clulow, Vance Trudeau, Andrew Kuoba The reality, use and potential for cryopreservation of coral reefs - Mary Hagedorn, Rebecca Spindler Recent advances and prospects in germplasm preservation of rare and endangered species - Pierre Comizzoli, William V. Holt Sperm DNA fragmentation and its role in wildlife conservation - Jaime Gosálvez, William V. Holt, Stephen D. Johnston Somatic Cells, Stem Cells, and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: How do they now contribute to conservation? - Gabriela Mastromonaco, Leslie Gonzalez, Melissa Filice, Pierre Comizzoli Biosafety in embryos and semen cryopreservation, storage, management and transport - Andrzej Bielanski Fertility Control in wildlife: review of current status, including novel and future technologies - Deborah Garside, Ayman Gebril, Manal Alsaadi, Valerie A. Ferro Cloning the mammoth: a complicated task or just a dream? - Pasqualino Loi, Joseph Saragusty, Grazyna Ptak Conclusions: environmental change, wildlife conservation and reproduction - William V. Holt, Janine Brown, Pierre Comizzoli