Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #ConservationBreeding
Most recents (5)
Preserving natural behaviours can be as important as other considerations like genetic diversity when planning a #ConservationBreeding program. Naivety to predators is one of the biggest challenges when releasing animals into the wild. #ScienceWeek 
Taronga’s #ConservationBehaviour Lab works with keepers & partners to ensure species like #RegentHoneyeaters display behaviours needed to survive in the wild - such as identifying & responding to predators. Mixing in a multispecies aviary is one approach frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
To understand if Taronga-bred #RegentHoneyeaters recognise wild predators like currawongs, we’re showing them predator models (& controls!). Safe exposure to danger allows us to see how they’ll respond when released. If needed, we'll teach them what a predator looks like
The #RegentHoneyeater is one of Australia’s most #CriticallyEndangered birds. There are <350 birds left in the wild. For >20y, Taronga has been #ConservationBreeding an insurance population. Since 2008, >300 birds have been released to bolster wild populations. #ScienceWeek
#RegentHoneyeaters are in decline due to threats from #habitatloss and degradation. #Drought, #bushfire, competition, and now even the precariously small size of the remaining population all pose risks to the species’ survival.
Our team of #RegentHoneyeater keepers are experts in #ConservationBreeding these amazing birds. Here specialist keeper Kara Stevens explains our progress at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo.
Another flagship and large collaborative #ConservationBreeding project that Taronga is involved in concerns the #CriticallyEndangered #PlainsWanderer, a bird that few people have probably heard of and even fewer have seen. #ScienceWeek
The #PlainsWanderer has no living close relative, which places it top of the @EDGEofExistence list. Remnant populations of this small ground-dwelling bird are mostly in Victoria, eastern South Australia and in the western Riverina region of NSW.
Though excellently camouflaged, #PlainsWanderer are just the right size to be eaten by invasive foxes. Taronga is working with @ZoosVictoria to establish an insurance population & recently built a #ConservationBreeing facility at Taronga Western Plains Zoo #sanctuary, #Dubbo.
But this is only part of the #bilby story. How did #bilbies behave once they were released into the Taronga #sanctuary, and did this affect overall success? To find out, we attached GPS devices & radio-transmitters to bilbies to track their movements post-release. #ScienceWeek
GPS devices collected incredibly detailed data on nightly #bilby movements, and radio-transmitters allowed us to locate #bilbies underground during the day. This track shows how bilby “Charlie” used the sanctuary just after release
Tracking data revealed hidden #bilby behaviours, such as their little-known social lives! It turns out that #bilbies have quite complex #socialnetworks and that bilby sociality may help explain some of the story behind their post-release success.
Bellinger river snapping #turtles are a great example of Taronga’s collaborative work on pathogen discovery and commitment to #conservation. #SavingOurSpecies #WildlifeHealth #ScienceWeek #reptiles
When conservation-savvy locals raised the alarm that something was wrong with the #turtles in the Bellinger river, multiple agencies were there to help, including the ARWH who were responsible for finding out what was making these animals sick.
The AWRH found a nidovirus, one that had never been described before. This is also described here by @KarrieARose in a Taronga TV clip:
