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PLATINUM The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles OPEN ACCESS online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of artcles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Review Ramifications of reproductive diseases on the recovery of the Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) Nan E. Schafer, Muhammad Agil & Zainal Z. Zainuddin 26 February 2020 | Vol. 12 | No. 3 | Pages: 15279–15288 DOI: 10.11609/jot.5390.12.3.15279-15288 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2020 | 12(3): 15279–15288 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) PLATINUM OPEN ACCESS DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5390.12.3.15279-15288 #5390| Received 06 September 2019 | Final received 02 December 2019 | Finally accepted 04 February 2020 R e v Ramifcatons of reproductve diseases on the recovery of the i e Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis w (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotdae) Nan E. Schafer 1 , Muhammad Agil 2 & Zainal Z. Zainuddin 3 1 SOS Rhino; IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group, 2414 Tracy Place, NW, Washington, D.C., USA. 2 Department of Clinic, Reproducton and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University; IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group , Jl. Agats, Kampas IPB Dramaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia. 3 Borneo Rhino Alliance; IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group, c/o Fakult Sains Dan Sumbur Alam, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected] Abstract: The Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis is on the edge of extncton. The decline of this species was initally atributed to poaching and habitat loss, but evidence presented here indicates that reproductve failure has also been a signifcant cause of loss, and contnues to afect wild populatons. Indonesia’s remaining populatons of Sumatran Rhino are small and scatered, with limited access to breeding opportunites with unrelated mates. This leaves them subject to inbreeding and isolaton-induced infertlity, linked to fertlity problems analyzed here. Sumatran Rhino females in captvity showed high rates (>70%) of reproductve pathology and/or problems with concepton, which has signifcantly hindered the breeding program. Technological advances enabling examinaton immediately afer capture revealed similarly high rates and types of reproductve problems in individuals from wild populatons. The last seven Sumatran Rhino females captured were from areas with small declining populatons, and six had reproductve problems. Going forward, capturing similarly compromised animals will take up valuable space and resources needed for fertle animals. The high risk of infertlity and difculty of treatng underlying conditons, coupled with the decreasing number of remaining animals, means that the success of eforts to build a viable captve populaton will depend upon utlizing fertle animals and applying assisted reproductve techniques. Decades of exhaustve in situ surveys have not provided informaton relevant to populaton management or to ascertaining the fertlity status of individual animals. Thus the frst priority should be the capture of individuals as new founders from areas with the highest likelihood of containing fertle rhinos, indicated by recent camera trap photos of mothers with ofspring. In Sumatra these areas include Way Kambas and parts of the Leuser ecosystem. Keywords: Extncton, isolaton-induced infertlity, pathology, reproducton. Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publicaton: 26 February 2020 (online & print) Citaton: Schafer, N.E., M. Agil & Z.Z. Zainuddin (2020). Ramifcatons of reproductve diseases on the recovery of the Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotdae). Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(3): 15279–15288. htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5390.12.3.15279-15288 Copyright: © Schafer et al. 2020. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: SOS Rhino. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. For Author details, Author contributon & Bahasa Indonesia abstract see end of this artcle. Acknowledgements: Authors would like to acknowledge the multtude of keepers, caretakers and animal managers that made this work possible. 15279 J TT Reproductve diseases in Sumatran Rhinos Schafer INTRODUCTION The global populaton of Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis was estmated at less than 100 individuals at the Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit of 2013. For decades, the persistent decline has been atributed to uncontrolled poaching and habitat loss. Evidence presented here, however, indicates that reproductve failure (previously only associated with captvity) is an important factor in the contnued decline of this species. The prevalence of reproductve problems across tme and landscapes indicate a need to understand the scope and nature of this failure for successful recovery. Between 1984 and 1995, a total of 41 Sumatran Rhinos were captured in Indonesia (Sumatra) and Malaysia (Peninsular and Sabah) (Rookmaaker 1998). The majority of males and females were placed in breeding facilites in each range country; three were moved to the United Kingdom and seven to the United States. At that tme, the husbandry of this species was poorly understood and insufcient knowledge about diet, habitat, social structure, matng behavior, and reproducton hampered breeding eforts. Introductons of males and females ofen led to violent responses. These husbandry gaps resulted in signifcant losses in the inital captve populaton. Improvements in diet and behavioral management addressed some of these Image 1. Analysis of reproducton in the frst captve females was challenges, yet despite breeding, females were not hampered by the lack of portable ultrasound machines. Pictured is producing ofspring. With the advent of ultrasound in Dr. Nan Schafer with an early prototype in 1998. © SOS Rhino. the 1990s, factors inhibitng concepton were revealed (Schafer et al. 1994) (Image 1). The high rate of pathologic abnormalites observed in the reproductve RESULTS tracts of female rhinos from both Indonesia and Malaysia was initally presented at the 1999 Asian Rhino Specialist This paper is based on records of female Sumatran Group Meetng, and published shortly thereafer Rhinos captured or poached from various sites in (Schafer et al. 2002). In additon, pregnancy failure was Indonesia and Malaysia between 1984 and 2018. linked to early embryonic death (Roth et al. 2001). Available records for husbandry reports, laboratory In early 2001, examinaton of a poached female results, histology, ultrasound images, and reproductve in Sabah, Malaysia signaled that the problem was not tract examinaton were compiled by Schafer (2018). exclusive to captvity (Image 2). In 2011 and 2014, two Source data and additonal details on individual animals more females examined immediately afer capture from are available on the Rhino Resource Center website. the same geographic area in Sabah presented with A summary of the data is provided in Table 1, which extreme pathologic conditons (Fiuza et al. 2015; Schafer includes animal identfcaton, approximate age, dates 2018). The Sumatran Rhino was declared extnct in the and locaton of capture, breeding facility locaton, date rainforests in Malaysia in 2015. This trend will have of death, whether the animal copulated, examinaton serious implicatons for the success of Indonesia’s 2018 results, and name of examiner. Age of adults, parous Emergency Acton Plan to build a productve captve status, and relatedness were unknown with the excepton populaton with the last Sumatran Rhinos, as set forth of one genetcally related breeding pair (Morales et below. al. 1997). Despite wide variability in parameters, the type of reproductve diseases were similar among individuals, and the rate of disease occurrence was high 15280 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2020 | 12(3): 15279–15288 J TT Reproductve diseases in Sumatran Rhinos Schafer Table 1. Details of the female Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus