Establish a special conservation zone for the captive giant panda

Ellison, Aaron M.; Lü, Yonglong

doi:10.1080/20964129.2018.1455990

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Although conservation success recently downgraded giant pandas from endangered to vulnerable 1 , there are fewer than 2000 giant pandas ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) in the wild throughout China. The captive breeding programme has facilitated conservation and succeeded in increasing the global population of giant pandas 2 , which includes over 500 pandas in captivity. It has also been vital in aiding understanding of their complex reproductive physiology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urinary estrogens as a non-invasive biomarker of viable pregnancy in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Wilson

Wauters

Valentine

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Female giant pandas show complex reproductive traits, being seasonally monoestrus, displaying a variable length embryonic diapause and exhibiting pseudopregnancy. Currently, there is no confirmatory non-invasive biomarker of blastocyst implantation or pregnancy. This study aimed to monitor urinary estrogens across gestation in pregnancy (n = 4), pseudopregnancy (n = 4) and non-birth cycles (n = 5) in the giant panda. A pregnancy-specific profile of estrogens corrected for urinary specific gravity was identified during the gestation period. Pregnant females showed increasing concentrations of estrogens for 29 days until birth, no increase was observed during pseudopregnancy and the two profiles were distinguishable from each other for the final 2 weeks of the cycle suggesting the estrogens are of placental origin. This allowed a nomogram, starting at a known fixed point during the cycle, to be created and tested with cycles of known outcome, and cycles which were inseminated but did not result in a birth. Non-birth profiles showed deviations from that of pregnancy. We believe these deviations indicate the point of failure of the placenta to support a developing cub. Non-invasive longitudinal monitoring of estrogen concentrations therefore has the potential to be developed as a panda pregnancy test to predict viable cub development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urinary estrogens as a non-invasive biomarker of viable pregnancy in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Wilson

Wauters

Valentine

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Figure 1. Map of southern China showing late Miocene localities with panda specimens in Yunnan (red symbols), the giant panda's modern distribution (orange)16 and historical range (yellow)[16][17][18] , present approximate bamboo forest distribution in China (green)19 , and Pleistocene and later fossil distribution (solid and open black circles and triangles)16,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] . We eliminated the humerus record from Zhoukoudian locality 1 following Jiangzuo et al25 (see discussion in online Supplementary material).…”

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confidence: 99%

Earliest giant panda false thumb suggests conflicting demands for locomotion and feeding

Wang

Jablonski

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Of the many peculiarities that enable the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), a member of the order Carnivora, to adapt to life as a dedicated bamboo feeder, its extra “thumb” is arguably the most celebrated yet enigmatic. In addition to the normal five digits in the hands of most mammals, the giant panda has a greatly enlarged wrist bone, the radial sesamoid, that acts as a sixth digit, an opposable “thumb” for manipulating bamboo. We report the earliest enlarged radial sesamoid, already a functional opposable “thumb,” in the ancestral panda Ailurarctos from the late Miocene site of Shuitangba in Yunnan Province, China. However, since the late Miocene, the “thumb” has not enlarged further because it must be balanced with the constraints of weight bearing while walking in a plantigrade posture. This morphological adaptation in panda evolution thus reflects a dual function of the radial sesamoid for both bamboo manipulation and weight distribution. The latter constraint could be the main reason why the panda’s false thumb never evolved into a full digit. This crude “thumb” suggests that the origin of the panda’s dedicated bamboo diet goes back to as early as 6–7 Ma.

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Quantifying the potential health risk of surface waters in the Qinling giant panda habitat

Zheng,

Chen,

Zhao

et al. 2024

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is recognized worldwide as an icon for wildlife conservation. The Qinling subspecies (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) inhabiting the Qinling Mountains is more endangered. Previous studies have indicated that Qinling pandas are potentially at risk from environmental pollutants, which they are exposed to via food and drinking water. However, there is little information about the surface water quality in the Qinling Mountains, and it is unknown whether drinking water is an important pollutant source for pandas. Water samples were collected from five different nature reserves in Qinling, each of which is home to a population of pandas. The samples were analyzed for five essential metals of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) and four non-essential metals of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). The concentrations of all heavy metals (HMs) were higher in buffer zones than in the core areas and were highest in Foping and Niuweihe nature reserves. The concentrations of mercury exceeded the water quality standard in the core zone of three reserves, suggesting that NWH (Niuweihe), THS (Tianhuashan), and PHL (Pingheliang) giant panda populations were at risk from mercury toxicity. The accumulation of other elements over time could also pose a serious risk to pandas. Three main sources of pollution were identified: coal combustion, waste incineration, and fertilizer use; traffic-related activities; and metal mining. Environmental pollution is compromising the efforts to conserve the giant panda, and measures need to be put in place to control pollution sources.

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Establish a special conservation zone for the captive giant panda

Cited by 3 publications

References 9 publications

Urinary estrogens as a non-invasive biomarker of viable pregnancy in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Urinary estrogens as a non-invasive biomarker of viable pregnancy in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Earliest giant panda false thumb suggests conflicting demands for locomotion and feeding

Quantifying the potential health risk of surface waters in the Qinling giant panda habitat

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