When the Zoo InternQuest (ZIQ) interns visited the Beckman Center, it was our first opportunity to meet the other interns. We all know how difficult it was to get accepted to ZIQ, so it was fun to meet students with similar interests from all over San Diego County. Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) is housed in the Beckman Center and is something that all of the interns are genuinely interested in learning more about. CRES is the largest zoo-based research institute in the world.

We first visited the Genetics Division. These scientists use the same kind of equipment used by researchers of human genetics such as the PCR process (polymerase chain reaction) to separate DNA. They also work with the Reproductive Physiology Division to be sure which samples to use for artificial insemination. When we reached the Reproductive Physiology lab, we caught up Dr. Barbara Durrant and a college student Research Fellow. We had a look in the microscope at samples of hoofed stock sperm that the researchers were evaluating. A surprising fact is that, if stored properly, a sperm sample can last practically forever. The oldest sample they were working with was kept in the Frozen Zoo since the mid-1980s. Not quite forever yet, but it is older than some of the interns!

The Pathology Division’s Molecular Diagnostics lab is dedicated to finding and preventing disease. One current major disease is one that kills amphibians, the chytrid fungus. Good to know that someone is working to prevent the total loss of amphibians from the planet. This is real and urgent conservation science in action!

The next division was my personal favorite: Applied Animal Ecology. We did not have the opportunity to speak with any of these scientists; however, our ZIQ leader, Maggie Reinbold, gave us some details about the field projects and encouraged us to learn more at the CRES Web site.

The Behavioral Biology Division is dedicated to learning how and why animals do what they do, both in the wild and in captivity. There were a few scientists doing lab work here, but others were also in the field, which in some cases means observing animals at the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo.

I was glad to find out that all of the equipment in the Beckman Center was either donated or purchased through grants, which is possible because the Zoological Society of San Diego, which includes CRES, is a non-profit organization. Some of the machines cost tens of thousands of dollars so it is good to know that major companies are concerned enough about conservation to help CRES save animals by saving them money!

The CRES researchers work with many other people in their fields and sometimes they have guest lecturers visiting. After our tour, we heard about the flora of Hawaii from Ann Sakai of University of California, Irvine. She talked about the different types of plants in Hawaii and why they are becoming extinct. We also learned about the origins of some of these plants and also how they reproduce. It turns out that the Zoological Society has a huge investment in saving endangered birds in Hawaii. Good thing the researchers communicate with each other about conserving endangered species. It takes a lot of people working together to bring about success.

Justin is a Zoo InternQuest intern, winter 2007.

Here’s more information about the Zoo InternQuest program.

Read blogs from CRES researchers.
Read blogs about the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

The Zoo InternQuest program is made possible through the generosity of the McCarthy Family Foundation.

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