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65 Chapter 5 Biological Samples in the Modern Zoological Park: A Case Study from the Bronx Zoo Cathi Lehn The American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums was first formed in 1924. Almost 80 years later, that same organization, now known as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) is “dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in conservation, education, science, and recreation” (Kisling, 2001). In North America, over 200 zoos to date have met the high accreditation standards of the AZA. Maple, McManamon, and Stevens (1995) define the “good zoo” as one that emphasizes humane health care for its animals, and includes science and education prominently in their mission and practice. The commitment of AZA zoos to research is evident in the current listing of contributions to conservation and research found in the latest AZA Annual Report on Conservation and Science (Lankard, 2001). Recent surveys of the AZA zoo community have found that within the last decade the percentage of zoos and aquariums conducting research has increased and that the types of research being conducted has expanded. Not surprisingly, applied research in the behavioral sciences and reproductive physiology are the most commonly reported types of research conducted within the zoos (Finlay & Maple, 1986; Stoinski, Lukas, and Maple, 1998). A similar trend was found by Wemmer, Rodden, and Pickett (1997) for publications occurring in the journal Zoo Biology. However, in a more extensive review of publications submitted by zoos, Hutchins, Paul, and Bowdoin (1996) found that a majority of articles contributed by zoos were in veterinary science, followed by research articles in behavior and reproductive biology. Veterinary science has had a long history in zoo research, however not always as an applied science. The prosector, or the predecessor of our present 66 Cathi Lehn day veterinarians and pathologists, was interested in basic research in the areas of taxonomy and anatomy and conducted his research on the zoological materials of animals. Pure, or basic, research represented the primary mode of research conducted by zoos in the nineteenth century (Wemmer & Thompson, 1995). The prosector knew the value of zoological materials, as did the universities and museums of that century, and these materials are no less important to modern research practices. The focus of this discussion, the collection and curation of biomaterials, is one manner in which zoological parks make a significant contribution to research in the basic and applied sciences. Biomaterials, or biological samples, may be defined as any organic piece or derivative of an animal, for example, tissue, urine, feces, gametes, hair, feathers, and DNA. Biomaterials from animals housed in zoological parks provide an invaluable resource to the scientific community. Biological samples are used in many disciplines, including taxonomy and systematics, population genetics, reproduction, nutrition, pathology, endocrinology, education, toxicology and veterinary medicine. Within the zoo setting there are many opportunities for veterinarians, pathologists, and animal managers to collect biomaterials noninvasively, or in a minimally invasive manner, from the animals housed in the collection. For example, in the event that an animal in the zoo dies, a veterinarian or pathologist has an opportunity during necropsy to collect tissue samples. Tissues may be taken and placed in formalin for further histological analysis in order to determine the cause of death of an animal and/or to collect baseline information from an endangered species (McNamara, 1999). Duplicate samples of these tissues may also be stored in an ultracold freezer for use in future studies (Benirschke, 1996; Sheldon & Dittmann, 1997). Furthermore, after necropsy, as an alternative to destroying the carcass it may be donated to an educational program or to a natural history museum (Kitchener, 1997). In addition, in the course of routine veterinary procedures, blood may be collected and that portion of the sample not used for diagnostics may be stored for future research. Opportunities to collect samples noninvasively may also be found in routine husbandry procedures at the zoo. For instance, animal keepers may collect biological samples for research, for example, feces or urine, from an animal while performing their daily routine (Ding, Zhang, & Ryder 1998; Fujita, Mitsunaga, Sugiura, & Shimizu, 2001; Graham & Brown, 1996; Brown & Loskutoff, 1998; Asa Bauman, Houston, Fischer, Reid, et al., 2001). In addition DNA may be extracted from many samples collected noninvasively throughout the zoo, for example, feathers, shed snake skin, and hair (Fetzner, 1999; Kuehn, Schwab, Schroeder, & Rottmann, 2000; Russello & Amato, 2001) In some instances in fact the collection of samples in the zoo setting is less stressful to the animals than if those same samples were to be collected from...

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