Reproductive Management Center
Successful reproductive management is an integral component of sustainable AZA Animal Programs, ensuring that both the genetic and demographic goals of the population are met. AZA professionals provide the highest standards of care for the animals they manage, which includes the objective that no more animals are produced than can be properly cared for. Careful reproductive management, which includes tools such as contraception, assisted reproduction, and fertility diagnostics, is essential for managers to reach population goals without disrupting natural social and family groups.
RMC Mission and History
The mission of the AZA Reproductive Management Center (RMC) is to provide science-based information to AZA facilities on reproductive management to support animal population viability, sustainability, and well-being.
The RMC began as the Contraception Advisory Group in 1989 and eventually evolved into the RMC in 2016 as the Center expanded its scope beyond contraception to include additional aspects of reproductive management (e.g., infertility). The Saint Louis Zoo serves as the home of the Center, but its advisors are spread throughout the country and include scientists, veterinarians, and animal managers with research and management expertise in wildlife contraception and disciplines that will contribute to the long-term sustainability of captive populations.
Population Management
Maintaining sustainable animal collections is one of AZA’s central strategic priorities. Sustainability is reliant on successful reproductive management, which requires communication and coordination among many AZA Animal Programs. The RMC works with the Population Management Center (PMC) to assist Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs), Species Survival Plans® (SSPs), curators, and veterinarians by recommending taxon-specific contraceptives and dosages, and contributes this valuable information to AZA Animal Care Manuals and Regional Collection Plans. The RMC also works with commercial partners to make new contraceptives available and affordable to the zoo and aquarium community.
Contraception
The RMC maintains a Contraception Database containing over 55,000 records that can be analyzed to continually update contraception guidelines on efficacy and reversibility. The Reproductive Health Surveillance Program (RHSP) , a RMC partner, studies the safety of contraceptives through comprehensive pathology examinations of reproductive tracts submitted by zoos and aquariums. The RMC provides (1) contraceptive advice to zoo veterinarians and animals care staff, (2) contraception-related presentations at conferences, and (3) downloadable resources related to zoo animal contraception. The RMC also undertakes multi-institutional and collaborative research projects relating to contraception efficacy, reversibility, and/or reproductive health. Ongoing communication between the RMC and members of the AZA community is critical to research efforts as well as overall program operation.
What's more, the contraceptive research carried out in zoos and aquariums has direct applications to the management of in-situ animal populations found in National Parks and Reserves. The Science and Conservation Center has applied this technology to the management of the wild horse populations and urban deer in several states, and they collaborate with a team contracepting African elephants in 45 different game parks in South Africa (to eliminate the need to legally kill them). The Science and Conservation Center is involved in managing the Hortobágy National Park Przewalski’s horse population in Hungary and is providing vaccines for several hundred Danube Delta horses in Romania.
Enhancing Reproduction
Given its specialty in reproductive science, the RMC expanded its focus beyond contraception to include enhancing reproduction. Many managed captive animal populations experience low rates of reproductive success. Reasons for reproductive failure may include, for example, pair incompatibility, improper light cycles, insufficient flock size, inadequate nutrition or over-conditioning, and physiological infertility, as well as logistical considerations.
RMC initiatives related to evaluating large-scale threats to animal population sustainability have included:
- Partnering with the Reproductive Health Surveillance Program for research on the relationship between reproductive pathology and infertility
- Creating and organizing workshops and demonstration videos that we can provide as resources to the AZA Community.
- Ongoing research projects related to contraception reversibility
- Reproductive Viability Analysis (RVA) to assess the biological and pair-related factors important for increasing reproductive success in a species
- Lifetime Reproductive Planning designed to establish and maintain female fertility
- Developing tools, such as the Reproductive Checklist to Assess Fertility, that can be used by the AZA zoo community to evaluate fertility in males and females
The RMC and the Reproduction & Endocrinology Scientific Advisory Group
The RMC and the AZA Reproduction & Endocrinology SAG collaborate to assist AZA members by providing sound reproductive management advice to support animal wellbeing and population sustainability. While many AZA professionals already associate the RMC with contraception advice and recommendations, they may not know whether to talk to the RMC or the SAG when they are struggling to get animals to reproduce. The SAG is available to assist with individual cases of infertility or failure to reproduce, whereas the RMC focuses on population-level issues in reproductive success. The SAG notifies the RMC when it begins to see similar issues occurring in multiple places with the same species for further investigation. AZA Program Leaders who are seeing reproductive challenges in their managed populations should reach out to the RMC as well as their reproductive advisors. If a facility is struggling with reproduction in a species, they may reach out to the population’s reproductive advisor if the species is an SSP. There may also be a reproductive advisor at the TAG level available to help even if the species is not an SSP. The Reproduction & Endocrinology SAG can also be contacted. Both the RMC and the SAG share a number of resources on their respective websites to assist facilities struggling with reproductive success in their animals.
Contact the RMC: