Smithsonian scientists study infectious diseases and their impacts on wildlife, including malaria, invasive chytrid fungus, tick-borne pathogens and more.
Videvall Postdoctoral Researcher, Computational Genomics Scientist Anat M.
Scientists are studying their genes to help save amphibians.
Publications Savage, Anna E., Karen M. Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Amy R.
Smithsonian scientists and partners believe genetic diversity could hold the key to saving amphibians from Ranavirus, a pathogen that is particularly devastating to frogs and toads in the U.S.
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As their native habitat continues to shrink, wild cheetahs are facing a drought of genetic diversity. This is in direct contrast with the population of cheetahs in zoos, which is as genetically diverse as it was 30 years ago because of cooperative and strategically managed breeding programs.
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In a shell of a paternity test story, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) scientists found that male desert tortoises that had been relocated from a threatened habitat to a new nearby home are reproducing at a much, much lower rate than resident males.
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She is particularly interested in the changes in gene expression and molecular events
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Over the last year, a record 91 cheetah cubs have been born at institutions affiliated with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Cheetah Species Survival Plan (SSP). In this Q&A, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) cheetah biologist and manager of the Cheetah SSP Adrienne Crosier discusses how collaboration is positively affecting the future of these endangered felines.
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For four years, the Reptile Discovery Center’s Asian water dragon female lived alone. Then, while examining eggs as part of a study, animal keepers made a shocking discovery—one was fertile! How could a female lay a fertile egg without a mate? They turned to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) for an answer to the mystery: parthenogenesis.
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Sally Bornbusch is a Smithsonian George E. Burch Postdoctoral Fellow co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation Genomics and Department of Nutrition Science. Bornbusch’s research is centered around animal microbial ecology, with a particular focus on integrating microbiome science into the fields of animal biology, care and conservation. Bornbusch uses metagenomics, nutritional analyses, and an array of other techniques to test for variation in microbial communities and associated changes in host traits and animal health.
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Our newest litter of cheetah cubs are busy exploring… and they just got their first physical! Learn about caring for cubs in this update from carnivore biologist Adrienne Crosier.
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