![]() “Our team gets a lot of requests from people all over the world who are trying to save animals,” Woodman said. Without healthy ecosystems that include a wide range of plants and animals, the planet can’t sustain conditions for human existence. Many species struggle to survive now that human activities are altering the planet’s climate and reducing the size of natural habitats. “That was a very big relief for me.”Īccording to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, 13% of the world’s bird species are threatened with extinction, including more than 400 species in the endangered category and another 200 marked as critically endangered.ĭeclining bird populations are part of a larger global problem with declining animal species variety. “I was able to run a number of chemical tests on different types of 3D printing processes to make sure it was non-toxic and safe for the animals,” Woodman said. Thanks to a study she conducted that was funded by the Animal Welfare Institute, Woodman uses only non-toxic materials in the egg loggers, including dyes used to color children’s clothing. That’s because when an animal population gets too low, there isn’t enough genetic diversity to create healthy offspring.īesides collecting information that could save endangered species, the most important aspect of the egg logger design is creating something that won’t harm birds. “When you get down to a very small population of animals, you might have one shot to get data and apply it or you lose the species,” Woodman said. Because of this, losing a nesting season can be devastating for conservation efforts, especially when a population has very low numbers. Every species has a different nesting season, but it typically only happens once a year. ![]() The nesting season includes the period when birds mate, build nests, and raise chicks. So, the artificial eggs should be adequate to convince the mother bird to sit on it.” “We don’t want the mother bird to reject the egg because, if she does, we’ve lost the nesting season. “The mother bird will reject an egg based on color, weight, surface texture, or if she can feel any cracks or dents in it,” Woodman said. She tests all 3D-printed shell versions, colors, shapes, and surface treatments for comfort and ease of turning. Loretta on her nest on Woodman’s guest bedroom dresser. Brightsmith, co-director of The Macaw Society and associate professor at VMBS.Įach batch of egg loggers is made with an individual bird species in mind – meaning the team must redesign the loggers for each species to prevent rejection by the hens. Other members of the team include inventor and author Sean Ragan and Dr. Scott Shaffer, a professor at San Jose State University. The egg loggers are highly sophisticated research tools designed using technology developed by Dr. They can even record how a mother bird turns the eggs on a three-dimensional axis. Depending on what kind of information she needs for each species, she can put sensors to measure light, sound, and temperature inside the egg loggers. Woodman is working to make artificial incubation more successful by designing fake bird eggs that log data to help conservationists replicate natural incubation. To make things even more difficult, no two bird species create the same incubation environment. However, for artificial incubation to be successful, conservationists must mimic the incubation environments found in nature, including temperature, sound, and egg rotation patterns. Once the chicks hatch, they are returned to their parents. Removing the eggs serves several purposes - it keeps them safe from accidental damage and it encourages hens (female birds) to lay additional eggs. In order to increase the number of eggs in a population, conservationists often remove eggs from nests and place them in artificial incubators, which keep the eggs at an optimal temperature range and in the correct humidity for the eggs to hatch successfully. Constance Woodman, the program manager for the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program at Texas A&M University and faculty member in the VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. The information is an important part of restoring declining bird populations, according to Dr. The devices, designed to look like bird eggs, carry sensors that capture information necessary for artificial incubation. ![]() Photo courtesy of Constance WoodmanĪ researcher from the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) is creating unique data collection devices to promote reproduction in endangered bird populations. Constance Woodman (left) with Sean Michael Ragan at his fabrication lab, along with Loretta the Test Turkey, who enjoys car rides to the lab. ![]()
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