Science communication and the media

This is a funny and great look out how the public gets and understands environmental news.

Research Field notes No. 12

9/17/2014. Dolphin Boat Survey

Today’s survey remained in the vicinity of the Jupiter Inlet (N 260 56.624' W 800 03.805') 

Research Organization: Taras Oceanographic Foundation

Wind/Water conditions: W 5. Seas 0 (aka the perfect conditions for a great survey)

 

Duration: 8 am-12:00 pm

Dolphin encounters: Today's survey was one very long encounter that remained very close to the Jupiter inlet. We were surrounded by bottlenose dolphin (tursiops truncatus). In our immediate view we counted an estimated 36 animals, including two cow/calf pairs. We were able to view several other groups further out during the entire encounter.

The behaviors today mostly included feeding. It was a seafood festival of sorts for the dolphin today! The bait were abundant and running parallel to the coast all morning. We watched them chase, roll over on their bellies while chasing, feeding, tail slapping , and encircling the bait. We also observed one small group traveling north past the inlet and were able to obtain a nice set of photo ID shots.

We had a special guest on board today. Greg Leatherman from Eco Magazine was assisting with the survey counts.

OTHER: Turtle counts:  6  Trash count: 4

Cryobanking for species conservation.

An Introduction

Cryobanking (i.e. the preservation of biological materials at very low temperatures for use in reproductive technology [YD, 2012]), was first introduced for use in the livestock industry as early as 1949 in France. Technological advances continued to develop throughout the 1950s and 60s. The first commercial human semen cryobank was established in the 1970s in the United States (CBS, 2012). Cryopreservation for non-domestic animal species is still considered to be emerging due to the fact that they are not widely practiced; there is limited knowledge of the reproductive biology of many species, and few have been tested (Pukazhenthi, et. al., 2006).

Preserving tissue requires blocking intracellular functions, while maintaining the physiochemical structure of the cell (CBS, 2012). Decreasing temperature slows down cellular activity and eventually stops it entirely (CBS, 2012). All types of life forms have various sensitivity and resistance to cold. Freezing biological material can be very arduous. Sudden cooling can damage cells due to ice crystallization both inside and outside of the cell membrane; causing changes in the overall physical environment of the cell (CBS, 2012). In addition, dehydration can occur due to increased salt levels that rise when water freezes (CBS, 2012). Another impediment that can occur by lowering temperatures too quickly is thermal shock. Thermal shock can occur even with the absence of crystals [i.e. at +15°C] (CBS, 2012). These effects can be alleviated through the use of cryoprotective agents, slower cooling methods and preconditioning the cells in a high salt medium (CBS, 2012). All cells have a dehydration threshold and cannot tolerate losing their baseline water content (CBS, 2012).

Learn More

To learn more about cryobanking, artificial reproduction and in-situ species conservation be sure to go to our online database search here.  Search keywords such as cryobanking, species conservation, artificial reproduction in animals and see what results you can find!

References:

CBS (Cryo Bio Systems), 2012. Online. Available at: http://www.cryobiosystem-imv.com/Portals/3/PDF/Monograph.pdf 

Pukazhenthi, B., Cinuzzoli, P., Travis, A., and Wildt, D., 2006. Applications of emerging technologies to the study of conservation of threatened and endangered species. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. V. 18. Pp.77-90. Online. Available from Science Direct. 

 YD (Your Dictionary), 2012. Online. Available at: http://medical.yourdictionary.com/cryobank