Michael Robinson took the helm as director of the National Zoo in the mid-1980s. At the beginning of the fourth decade, the reproductive physiology program was transferred to. In late 2000, Director Spelman consolidated most of the zoo's research programs into the CRC.
Many of the original research themes, such as the behavior and ecology of mammals, birds. Among the student projects were studies on the anti-predator behavior of the donkey (Nancy Muckenhirn), the ecology of the Asian elephant (George McKay, 1973), and the comparative ecology of gray and purple-faced langurs (Rudy Rudran, a Ceylonese) . Gene Morton joined the staff in 1974, the National Zoo expanded the taxonomic scope of the zoo's research programs to include birds.
His interest in migratory birds (Migrant Birds in the Neotropics, 1982) and tropical avian ecology led to the founding of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. In the early 1980s, Bush had the opportunity to work in South Africa with colleagues Wildt and O'Brien at the National Cancer Institute. The center was in the midst of a population decline, with the consequent loss of the alfalfa crop that provided food for the ungulates at the Washington Zoo.
Most of these conferences were published in Symposia of the National Zoological Park, a now defunct series of the Smithsonian Press. Eisenberg's scientific contributions at the National Zoo culminated in the publication of The Mammalian Radiations, An Analysis of Trends in Evolution, Adaptation, and Behavior (Eisenberg, 1981). Meanwhile, National Zoo administrators reallocated two positions and the entire operating budget.
This was one of the first computerized studbooks and quickly became a model for other studbook keepers in the zoo community. Training conservation practitioners in the conservation applications of this new spatial technology is an integral part of the laboratory's agenda. An important contribution was the publication of the proceedings of the Workshop on The Genetic Management of Captive Populations in the journal Zoo Biology (Ralls and Ballou 1986).
Conference on the Conservation of the Giant Panda, Devra Kleiman and Miles Roberts, National Zoo, 1991. He also participated in the coordination of a comprehensive multidisciplinary biomedical study on the giant panda in China.
Animal Collections
Responsibility for the red panda breeding loans was transferred to the Conservation and Research Center, and the iguanas were included in the collection of the NZP's Herpetology Department. As shown in the figure below, the number of species in the CRC mammal collection increased steadily from 4 to 24 species between 1974 and 1981. Although the number of species in the CRC Mammal Collection began to decline slowly after 1981, the number of specimens in the CRC Mammal Collection has steadily increased from 4 to 24 species. the CRC collection did not peak until 1993, after the number of species was reduced to 19 (see figure below).
To a large extent, this reflects the continued expansion of a number of ungulate herds that reached carrying capacity around this time. The number of specimens in the collection has continued to decline since 1993, as a result of the judicious removal of specimens and species, and the deliberate redirection of space and resources to high-priority species (i.e., black-footed ferrets, Mustela nigripes). Currently, 78 specimens in the KDF collection are on loan from other institutions, and 13 specimens are on loan to other institutions.
As in the case of mammals, birds were moved to the CRC as soon as the facilities were adapted to accommodate them in 1974. In addition, approximately 80% of the entire NZP Department of Ornithology's bird collection was also moved to the CRC in late 1974 to accommodate refurbishment of the Bird House . Unfortunately, because the collection was housed in inappropriate and makeshift facilities, avian tuberculosis spread through the collection and subsequently became a major source of mortality in both the NZP and CRC bird collections due to the frequent exchange of samples between facilities.
As shown in the figures above, the number of species in the collection increased from 2 to 46 between 1974 and 1984, and the number of specimens increased from 13 to 505. a combination of factors involving (1). As a result, over the next 4-5 years, the number of species was reduced, the number of specimens per species was increased, improved.
Since 1989, the number of species in the collection has remained relatively constant (i.e. 14-21), and variations in the number of specimens have been mainly related to specific research or conservation projects. Of this number, 5 species are managed under the auspices of the AZA SSP program, 1 species is managed under the AZA Regional Studbook, 3 are managed in cooperation with the USA. Currently, 21 specimens of endangered species are on loan to the CRC from the Government of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
CRC Budget and Finances
CRC generates income from employee dormitory rent and fees charged for the use of its conference and training facilities (Table 2.1). Housing funds are also used to support a full-time office assistant, a full-time contract caretaker and 2-3 temps. The declining "net" income in the housing fund over the past 4 years reflects both an increase in annual costs, and a concerted effort to improve and maintain the condition of CRC's residences.
As shown in Table 2.1, the funds obtained from SI grants and endowments have decreased significantly over the past 4 years. Unfortunately, the future of several internal SI grant programs that we have come to rely on – including the Scholarly Studies and Fellowship programs – remains uncertain. The annual allocations of FONZ awards and grants depend heavily on the income generated by the public.
The increasing diversion of FONZ resources to the 'public face' of the zoo suggests that these resources may also decline in the future. CRC scientists and educators have been extremely successful in obtaining external grants and awards from foundations, corporations, and nonprofits, through interagency agreements, and through donations. If federal allocations and internal SI Trust funds continue to decline, CRC will increasingly rely on external grants, awards and donations to support its programs in the future.
Unspent R+R funds are carried over to the next year, but are not included in the annual allocations presented here. 135,423 Installation of pad-mounted transformer at the Training Center; Install the box channel over the creek a church barn; repairing and treating the exterior of the Mule Barn; install roof exhaust fan in equipment storage facility. 9,964 Get up-to-date construction estimates and pre-bid services from the architectural firm for the consolidated maintenance facility.
List of Acronyms used in Review Document
