Dissertation
Physiological ecology of soft-released giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000342
Abstract
As a researcher and staff of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (CRB), I participated in the development of a program to prepare and release captive-born giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) into the wild. The method we have applied, the Assisted Soft Release (ASR), is utilized by conservation translocation programs for a variety of species but is novel for giant pandas. Under this methodology, researchers begin working closely with animals at a young age to develop trusting bonds. These bonds allow us to closely monitor and assist the release candidates as they progress from captivity to the wild. Our release program began in 2014 and is still in early development. My studies focused on those released giant panda individuals and controls from that program. I studied three important aspects of panda biology: blood physiology and biochemistry, metabolism, and the interaction of metabolism and blood thyroid hormones (THs). First, I monitored the health of reintroduction and captive giant pandas by analyzing their blood physiology and biochemistry. Second, I used a doubly labeled water (DLW) method to measure the metabolic rate of giant pandas selected for release and living in large natural enclosures. Third, I determined if blood THs had a positive relationship to the metabolic rate of both reintroduction pandas in natural enclosures and captive giant pandas. I found that giant pandas had altered blood characteristics in response to life at high elevations. I also found that giant pandas had metabolic rates like those of similar sized bears and that giant pandas raised their metabolism under winter conditions. Finally, thyroid hormones were not positively related to field metabolic rate in this study. However, I found higher thyroxine values in giant pandas in the large enclosures in the nature reserve as compared to the captive giant pandas. Those values were probably related to the higher energy expenditure of the pandas at higher altitude. These data will help us to understand the biology of giant pandas released into the wild in nature reserves.
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Details
- Title
- Physiological ecology of soft-released giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
- Creators
- Wenlei Bi
- Contributors
- James Robert Spotila (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- XIV, 96 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014856045404721