AZA Announces Conservation Endowment Fund Grants
Nov 30, 2009Silver Spring, Maryland – The Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (AZA) announced that the AZA Conservation Endowment Fund (CEF) has
awarded $170,000 to nine wildlife conservation initiatives.
“From
coral to frogs to elephants, AZA-accredited institutions and their partners are
at the forefront of wildlife conservation here in North
America and around the world,” said AZA President and CEO, Jim
Maddy. “The scientific contribution of those receiving Conservation Endowment
Fund awards is vital to the wildlife conservation movement.”
The
AZA CEF supports the cooperative conservation-related scientific and
educational initiatives of AZA members and their partners. Every major type of
conservation and animal care initiative is represented — research, field
conservation, education and outreach, animal welfare, animal health and animal
management. Many CEF projects are
collaborations among AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and state, federal and
international wildlife agencies, academia and other conservation organizations.
Since
1991, AZA’s CEF has supported more than 290 projects worldwide with nearly $5
million in funding. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) and The Walt
Disney Company have provided supplemental funds to the CEF for over a decade, which
significantly increases the number of projects funded by the CEF each year.
After
a competitive review of over 80 applications, nine projects were funded for
2009. These include:
Effects of Disease Treatments on Captive Coral Health
Ilze Berzins, John G. Shedd Aquarium/The Florida Aquarium
Quantifying and Validating Animal Care
Takers’ Insights as a Tool for Continuous Monitoring of Zoo Animal Welfare
Nadja Wielebnowski, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield Zoo
Jessica Whitham, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield Zoo
Translocation as a Tool to Reintroduce and Supplement Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) Populations on
Restored Conservation Lands
Michelle
Smurl, Brevard Zoo
In-situ and Ex-situ
Conservation of the Critically Endangered Acroporids through Public Aquaria and
Coral Reef Scientists
Mike Brittsan, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Mark Schick, John G. Shedd Aquarium
Kathy Vires, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Daily Travel Distance of African
elephants (Loxodonata africana) in
Botswana
Matt Anderson, San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research
For the past
two years, AZA’s CEF has been utilized to address global amphibian declines.
This year almost half of the awards will focus on aspects of this important
conservation issue. These projects include:
Establishing a Captive Breeding Facility for Malagasy
Amphibians
Jennifer
Pramuk, Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society
Genetic Analyses of Amphibian Chytrid
Fungus and the Global Extinction Crisis
William Modi, Zoological Society of San Diego
Erica Rosenblum, University of Idaho
Reintroduction of the Mountain
Yellow-Legged Frog
Ron Swaisgood, Zoological Society of San Diego
Jeff Lemm, Zoological Society of San Diego
A Citizen Science Training Model for
Investigating the Presence or Absence of Amphibian Chytrid Fungus in Amphibian
Populations
Penny Danielewicz, Buffalo Zoo
Tiffany Vanderwerf, Buffalo Zoo
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