Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation: Progress and Prospects

✍ Scribed by William V. Holt, Janine L. Brown, Pierre Comizzoli (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 539
• Series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 753
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Reproductive biology is more than the development of techniques for helping with too little or too much breeding. While some of the relevant techniques are useful for individual species, technical developments have to be backed up by thorough biological understanding of the background behind the problems. This book is therefore threefold; (1) it provides a snapshot of the state of the art in terms of species-specific reproductive technologies, whether for individual animals or whole taxonomic groups; (2) it sets the reproductive problems in context and emphasizes the links between animal-based problems and the wider world, e.g. reproductive fitness and (3) it looks forward and presents realistic assessments of how effective some of the more recently developed techniques in reproductive technology might be at combating extinctions. This is a wide-ranging book that will be relevant to anyone involved in reproductive biology or in species conservation and provides provide them some useful perspectives about the real utility of current and emerging technologies. It has contributions from experts in reproduction and related fields.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Reproductive Science as an Essential Component of Conservation Biology....Pages 3-14
“Mayday Mayday Mayday”, the Millennium Ark Is Sinking!....Pages 15-31
Front Matter....Pages 33-33
Climate Change, Extinction Risks, and Reproduction of Terrestrial Vertebrates....Pages 35-54
Impacts of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on Reproduction in Wildlife....Pages 55-70
The Role of Genomics in Conservation and Reproductive Sciences....Pages 71-96
The Epigenetic Basis of Adaptation and Responses to Environmental Change: Perspective on Human Reproduction....Pages 97-117
The Black-Footed Ferret: On the Brink of Recovery?....Pages 119-134
Comparative Reproductive Biology of Elephants....Pages 135-169
The Koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus ): A Case Study in the Development of Reproductive Technology in a Marsupial....Pages 171-203
Reproduction and Advances in Reproductive Studies in Carnivores....Pages 205-239
Methods to Examine Reproductive Biology in Free-Ranging, Fully-Marine Mammals....Pages 241-274
Amphibian Declines in the Twenty-First Century: Why We Need Assisted Reproductive Technologies....Pages 275-316
The Reality, Use and Potential for Cryopreservation of Coral Reefs....Pages 317-329
Recent Advances and Prospects in Germplasm Preservation of Rare and Endangered Species....Pages 331-356
Sperm DNA Fragmentation and Its Role in Wildlife Conservation....Pages 357-384
Somatic Cells, Stem Cells, and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: How Do They Now Contribute to Conservation?....Pages 385-427
Biosafety in Embryos and Semen Cryopreservation, Storage, Management and Transport....Pages 429-465
Fertility Control in Wildlife: Review of Current Status, Including Novel and Future Technologies....Pages 467-488
Cloning the Mammoth: A Complicated Task or Just a Dream?....Pages 489-502
Conclusions: Environmental Change, Wildlife Conservation and Reproduction....Pages 503-514
Back Matter....Pages 515-533

✦ Subjects

Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Reproductive Medicine; Molecular Medicine