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With statements like “poop is good” and “male quails are like walking gonads,” Dr. Tom Jensen, a scientist for the Reproductive Physiology Division at CRES, enthusiastically explained his work conserving kiwis. One species, the brown kiwi, is native to New Zealand and is currently facing major decline. The present rate of decline could result in a loss of half the existing population every ten years. That is, if no actions were being taken to conserve this precious population.

Dr. Jensen works at the Beckman Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Species (CRES), and abroad in New Zealand, to protect these unique birds. Dr. Jensen learns and perfects different research techniques with captive birds at the San Diego Zoo, then goes to New Zealand to observe the birds in the wild. When he returns to CRES he has new knowledge to better serve the captive population. A few of the techniques that he uses are DNA fingerprinting to differentiate individuals within a population and ultrasound technology to assess stages of ovulation.

Kiwi eggs are distinctive because judging by the size of the bird one would expect the egg to be the size of a chicken egg when in fact the egg is closer to the size of an emu egg. The large size of the egg allows for the kiwi chick to mature to a greater extent before hatching; once born, kiwi chicks require relatively little parental care. Unlike chickens or other birds, once the kiwi chick is out of the egg it looks almost exactly like a miniature adult kiwi.

In Dr. Jensen’s lab we mimicked his research on kiwi eggs using chicken eggs as a model. In the lab, we ground a small hole in the chicken eggs using a belt sander until the outside shell was removed and only membrane remained. We then carefully removed the membrane with forceps revealing the growing chick inside. Blood tests can then be performed in order to evaluate the health and gender of the chick. Especially with kiwis it is helpful to know the sex because in captivity there is a gender bias towards males. A group of five males and one female is not as effective demographically as three males and three females. Although we did not have time to perform this step, after Dr. Jensen opens eggs he seals a layer of Parafilm to the egg to act as the missing segment of membrane. (He assured us he would take care of these eggs after we left.) The Parafilm supports the egg while giving him a window to monitor the chick’s growth and hopefully the growth of the endangered kiwi population.

Amelia, Conservation Team

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