Friday, April 17, 2015

A New Tool for Conservation Genetics: Seal Placentas



Not only are seal populations on the decline due to loss of habitat, competition for resources, and hunting, but now a lack of genetic diversity is also causing problems with the Pinnipeds. The issue is inbreeding, which can lead to birth defects and other problems that threaten the lives of these animals.

Conservation biologists test the DNA of endangered species when they are able to obtain a sample. However, it is often difficult to get a sample from a wild animal because they either cannot be found in their natural habitat, there is too little DNA in hair or feces that are found, or it is hazardous to the researcher or the animal to get close to each other. The new way of genetic testing is performed by obtaining the placentas of newborn seals. By using the placenta scientists can learn additional information as well, such as the gender of the pup or if inbreeding occurred.  

This study was performed in Finland on Saimaa ringed seals, one of the most rare species of seal on earth. From 2009-2011, scientists collected 59 placentas from these seals. Even though they were not completely fresh and new, the placentas still contained a vast amount of testable DNA. Unfortunately, what the researchers discovered was that many of the pups born were stillborn. The genetics of the pups revealed there was not much diversity in the genes and led to fatal birth defects.

This is only the beginning of this new method of genetic testing. The information placentas can give about a newborn seal (or any animal) could be extremely beneficial to conservation efforts. The reason this study works well with seals is because the mothers do not eat the placentas after giving birth, as many species of animals do. 

I was very happy to see this article and read about the ways we are using genetics to help with conservation efforts. As someone interested in working in wildlife conservation, it gives hope to the future of these animals. It seems as though the key to solving many of the problems occurring in animals, including humans, lies within the field of genetics. 

2 comments:

  1. This article is very interesting because we just learned the effects of inbreeding. I know many times when we hear that an animal is going extinct we try to increase the population size by increasing mating, but I never thought about the effect of inbreeding. Because the population size is so small, the gene pool doesn't have much variability. This can cause a single disease to wipe out an entire species, or like the article stated, cause defects due to inbreeding.

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  2. I found it really interesting too; my sister works at an aquarium and sometimes they test the genes of the African Penguins in order to set up or pair two penguins together who will have a chick with great genes to help increase the population, since they are listed as endangered. It doesn't always work (because penguins mate for life, so it's hard to pull away a "married couple" just to pair them with another penguin; it's also something I find extremely sad). It's also in a controlled environment so it's much easier to do genetic testing and pairing with aquarium animals than it is with animals in the wild. This just goes to show that the effects of inbreeding can be devastating and doesn't really help the population at all. But, hopefully this study CAN help with conservation efforts beyond what we already do!

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