FIELD RESEARCH

ASIA

Conservation of Wildlife in the Luzon Region of the Philippines: developing recommendations for protecting the remaining habitat for native species and to produce workable conservation strategies.

Gray's Monitor Lizard (Varanus olivaceus) - Philippines: using GPS monitoring to study the natural history of this arboreal lizard. Project began in 2002.

UNITED STATES

Endangered Feline Recovery Team: working toward the recovery of all endangered North American felines with the emphasis on the Texas ocelot (Leopardus pardalis albescens).

Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum anthalassos): helping monitor colonies of this endangered subspecies that has nested in southeast and northwest Dallas County since 1992 to determine what factors influence the breeding success of the colonies.

Texas Native Bird and Habitat Conservation Awareness Program: aimed at increasing the awareness of preserving native habitats in Texas. The green jay (Cyanocorax yncas) is the mascot for the program.

Texas Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri): study to evaluate population dynamics, movement patterns and hibernation activities of the wild urban population of Texas ratsnakes at the Zoo. Study has been ongoing for over 10 years.

MEXICO AND SOUTH AMERICA

Natural History of Small Carnivores in Northeastern Mexico: a long-term study on territory size, movement patterns, reproduction and survivorship of ocelots, jaguarundi (Felis yaguarondi) and coatimundi (Nasua nasua).

Ocelot Translocations in Southern Mexico: to study confiscated wild-caught ocelots as they are rehabilitated and reintroduced from ZOOMAT to suitable habitats in western Chiapas, Mexico.

Natural History of Caribbean Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber): annual banding, sexing and taking crop samples from hundreds of young flamingos in the Yucatan to determine factors such as migration routes, age at first breeding, and lifespan needed to create sound conservation plans.

Natural History of Raptors in Northeastern Mexico: study collecting basic morphometric (size) and disperal data producing information on movement patterns. Project began in 1999.

Natural History of Anegada Iguanas: investigate natural history parameters of this highly endangered lizard and monitor the movements and survivorship of reintroduced animals using radio telemetry.

COLLECTION-BASED RESEARCH

MAMMALS

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis): develop the population of captive ocelots into a useful research model; specifically, studying animals’ olfactory communication, experiential and social experiences required to produce competent animals, nutritional requirements, and influences of various factors on body temperature using implanted devices.

Okapi (Okapia johnstoni): studies investigating infrasound communication and levels of stress associated with various factors (illness, breeding introductions, transfers between zoos).

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis): investigating nutrition of captive rhinos. One study will evaluate the quantitative and qualitative factors of baseline diet. A second study will determine the importance of tannins in the diets of black rhinos on several blood chemistry factors, especially iron levels.

Gorilla: study to develop methodology using artificial reproductive technology for producing female offspring from genetically under-represented individuals in the gorilla population.

Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx): comparing the effect of six food-related enrichment devices on behavior patterns.

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): working toward obtaining voluntary semen samples from chimpanzees and preserving these samples for use in managing the genetic diversity of the captive chimpanzee population.

BIRDS

Chilean and American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis, P. ruber ruber): studying aspects of flamingo behavior, vocalizations, mate fidelity and dominance. In addition, a flamingo husbandry manual is being edited and produced by the Zoo.

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori): analyzing the growth of captive born kori bustards to determine the influences of sex and rearing method (parent or hand-reared) on weight gain and growth rate.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

Black-throated Monitor Lizards: measuring the effects of an enriched environment on the neurological development of varanid lizards using high field MRI brain imaging.

Brown Tree Snake (Boigrea irregularis): establishing a breeding colony of this species of snake.

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus obesus): studying the effects of different sources of UV radiation on calcium levels and bone density in this lizard.

Endemic Neotenic Salamanders: The Dallas Aquarium at Fair Park has been designated as a refuge for these endangered salamanders. In addition to breeding these salamanders, we are investigating growth rates and methods for individual identification.

OTHER PROJECTS

DNA Bank: starting a DNA bank of all the birds, mammals and reptiles in the Zoo's collection. Samples will be available to molecular geneticists to answer questions about evolutionary history of a species, migratory patterns, geographic origin, relatedness or biodiversity.