Ricerca
Risultati della ricerca
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2017
Journal article
Environmental enrichment for Killer whales Orcinus orca at zoological institutions: untried and untested
Despite a history in zoological institutions stretching back more than 50 years, with associated improvements in husbandry and breeding, the keeping of Killer whales Orcinus orca in zoos and aquariums has become highly controversial. The recent decision to stop the current breeding programme in the USA does not obviate the...Law, G ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; shaw, mark
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2017
Conference paper (unpublished)
Detection of foot pathology by 3D radiography in elephants
Foot disease is one of the most important health conditions of captive elephants, but treatment is hindered by the limitations of diagnostic imaging. Despite the high value of individual animals, advanced imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are currently not possible in live elephants...Bentley, Charlotte ; Cracknell, Jonathan ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Pizzi, Romain
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2017
Journal article
A fossil protein chimera; difficulties in discriminating dinosaur peptide sequences from modern cross-contamination
A decade ago, reports that organic-rich soft tissue survived from dinosaur fossils were apparently supported by proteomics-derived sequence information of exceptionally well-preserved bone. This initial claim to the sequencing of endogenous collagen peptides from an approximately 68 Myr Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was highly controversial, largely on the grounds of potential...Buckley, M ; Warwood, S ; van Dongen, B ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Manning, Phillip L
palaeoproteomics, Tyrannosaurus, ancient collagen, dinosaur protein, Brachylophosaurus, and ostrich
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2017
Journal article
Saving the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci): assessment of the genetic status of captive bongos as a source for genetic reinforcement of wild populations
Fewer than 140 individuals of the rare and critically endangered mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) remain in the wild. This population has eroded genetic diversity, with only two haplotypes detected with mitochondrial DNA markers. The genetic diversity of mountain bongos from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) was assessed for...O’Donoghue, P ; Gruber, Karl ; Bingaman Lackey, Laurie ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; O’Donoghue, Emily …
microsatellites, bongo, genetic augmentation, One Plan Approach, and Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci
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2017
Journal article
Threatened but understudied: supporting conservation by understanding the genetic structure of the flat-headed cat
The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is a wetland specialist, currently facing habitat loss on a serious scale due to massive destruction of lowland forests and wetlands in Southeast Asia. Despite its ‘endangered’ status in the IUCN Red List, there has virtually been no investigation on the population structure nor on...Patel, R P ; Lenz, D ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Fickel, J ; Förster, D W …
Flat-headed cat Habitat specialist Hybrid capture Mitogenome MtDNA
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Journal article
Distinguishing the victim from the threat: SNP‐based methods reveal the extent of introgressive hybridization between wildcats and domestic cats in Scotland and inform future in situ and ex situ management options for species restoration
The degree of introgressive hybridization between the Scottish wildcat and domestic cat has long been suspected to be advanced. Here, we use a 35‐SNP‐marker test, designed to assess hybridization between wildcat and domestic cat populations in Scotland, to assess a database of 295 wild‐living and captive cat samples, and test...Senn, Helen ; Ghazali, Muhammad ; Kaden, Jennifer ; Barclay, David ; Harrower, Ben …
carnivores, captive populations, conservation management, and invasive species
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Journal article
Multi-individual microsatellite identification: a multiple genome approach to microsatellite design (MiMi)
Bespoke microsatellite marker panels are increasingly affordable and tractable to researchers and conservationists. The rate of microsatellite discovery is very high within a shotgun genomic data set, but extensive laboratory testing of markers is required for confirmation of amplification and polymorphism. By incorporating shotgun next‐generation sequencing data sets from multiple... -
Journal article
Gross intestinal morphometry and allometry in primates (e23035)
Although it is generally assumed that among mammals and within mammal groups, those species that rely on diets consisting of greater amounts of plant fiber have larger gastrointestinal tracts (GIT), statistical evidence for this simple claim is largely lacking. We compiled a dataset on the length of the small intestine,...McGrosky, Amanda ; Meloro, Carlo ; Navarrete, Ana ; Heldstab, Sandra A ; Kitchener, Andrew C …
digestive tract, primate, anatomy, phylogeny, and diet
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Journal article
Twenty years of the tiger feeding pole: review and recommendations
The tiger feeding pole was developed at Glasgow Zoo, UK, more than 20 years ago as a feeding-enrichment device. Since then the adoption of the feeding pole by other zoos for Tigers Panthera tigris and other cats has been slow and sporadic until recent years when many zoos in the...Law, G ; Kitchener, Andrew C
behaviour, feeding, tiger, snow leopard, enrichment, jaguar, lion, welfare, captivity, and hunting
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2020
Journal article
Small carnivorans, museums and zoos
Small carnivorans are generally poorly represented in zoos, probably because they are small, mostly nocturnal and solitary hunters. However, there is limited knowledge about the ecology and behaviour of a large number of these and many species are threatened with extinction or their conservation status is poorly known or even...Kitchener, Andrew C
museums , zoo, small carnivoran , research , taxonomy , conservation , collection, anatomy , and biobanking
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2021
Journal article
A kingdom in decline: Holocene range contraction of the lion (Panthera leo) modelled with global environmental stratification
Aim We use ecological niche models and environmental stratification of palaeoclimate to reconstruct the changing range of the lion (Panthera leo) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Location The modern (early 21st century) range of the lion extends from southern Africa to the western Indian Subcontinent, yet through the... -
2021
Blog post
Frozen assets saving species with biobanks
How do frozen tissue samples from the 1960s help animal conservation in the time of COVID-19? Andrew Kitchener and Gill Murray-Dickson explore the importance of our Biobank and the CryoArks initiative for continuing research to answer the questions of today and the future.Kitchener, Andrew C
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2021
Journal article
The Scientific Name of the Aardwolf is Proteles cristatus
The aardwolf is one of the four members of the family Hyaenidae (order Carnivora). It is referred to as either Proteles cristatus or Proteles cristata in the scientific literature and on animal diversity websites, but only one of these names is correct. In this short note, we seek to rectify...Werdelin, Lars ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Abramov, Alexei ; Veron, Géraldine ; Do Linh San, Emmanuel
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2022
Blog post
On the edge: COP 15 and disappearing species
With COP 15 taking place in China this month, Principal Curator of Vertebrates Andrew Kitchener explores the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker. Thought to be extinct, but with potential sightings still reported, this bird is just one of many species we’re at risk of losing forever.Kitchener, Andrew C
Conservation , Birds , Natural Sciences , Audubon , and Natural World
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Poster (unpublished)
CryoArks – The UK’s first zoological biobank
National Museums Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are partners in a UK-wide collaboration to create the UK’s first comprehensive zoological Biobank network for research and conservation.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Murray-Dickson , Gill
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2022
Journal article
Phenotypic plasticity determines differences between the skulls of tigers from mainland Asia
Tiger subspecific taxonomy is controversial because of morphological and genetic variation found between now fragmented populations, yet the extent to which phenotypic plasticity or genetic variation affects phenotypes of putative tiger subspecies has not been explicitly addressed. In order to assess the role of phenotypic plasticity in determining skull variation,... -
Journal article
First recorded stranding of a short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, in Britain
A male pilot whale, Globicephala sp., was reported as a live stranding on 1st March 2012 at Hazelbeach, near Neyland, Pembrokeshire. It was euthanased and its skull was recovered during an onsite necropsy. Examination of the skull and contemporary photographs of the stranded animal confirm that this is the first...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg ; Penrose, R S ; Perkins, M W ; Deaville, R
Globicephala melas, Delphinidae, skull, and Globicephala macrorhynchus
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2023
Research report
Scottish Wildcat Action: Final Summary Report
The wildcat, Felis silvestris, is one of our most iconic species. Elusive and rarely seen, it is threatened by a combination of extremely challenging factors, in particular hybridisation with domestic cats. Its secretive nature has made it a difficult animal to study in the wild, making it harder to design...Kitchener, Andrew C
Felis silvestris, ecology , population, and wildcat