Two California Condors Reproduced Asexually, Scientists Say — A First Recorded For That Species

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(CNN) — Two captive pistillate California condors each produced a chick asexually years agone — the lone specified instances ever recorded for that endangered species, researchers reported Thursday.

And portion this has been seen successful different vertebrates and adjacent birds, these are believed to beryllium the archetypal recorded instances successful birds erstwhile the females had entree to a mate, researchers said.

The exceptional hatchings — the archetypal of which happened successful the aboriginal 2000s and the 2nd aboriginal that decennary — were noted lone erstwhile researchers analyzed biologic samples from condors astatine a breeding programme tally by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, the radical said.

A researcher with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance holds California condor laboratory specimens.

(credit: Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

The discovery, reported Thursday successful the Journal of Heredity, raises questions astir however galore much taxon reproduce asexually undetected, 1 of the researchers said.

The pistillate condors successful question were continuously housed with a fertile antheral successful the alliance’s breeding program, and each pistillate had galore different chicks with their mates. But caller familial investigating recovered 2 anomalies.

The 2 anomalous chicks were genetically related to the pistillate that laid their eggs, but neither was genetically related to a male, meaning some were biologically fatherless, the alliance said.

“It conscionable deed america successful the face. We lone confirmed it due to the fact that of the mean familial studies we bash to beryllium parentage,” Oliver Ryder, the alliance’s manager of conservation genetics, said successful a quality release.

“Our results showed that some eggs possessed the expected antheral ZZ enactment chromosomes, but each markers were lone inherited from their dams (mothers), verifying our findings.”

One chick died successful 2003 soon earlier its 2nd birthday; the different died successful 2017 days earlier it turned 8, researchers said.

For vertebrates, asexual reproduction, oregon parthenogenesis, is uncommon but hardly novel. It is seen successful immoderate taxon of fish and reptiles, and scientists judge it tin beryllium a effect to isolation from immoderate antheral partners.

In birds, asexual reproduction has been recorded rarely, and chiefly successful home turkeys and chickens separated from males, researchers said successful the Journal of Heredity report.

Scientists besides saw the beginnings of asexual reproduction successful finches successful a 2008 study, and successful home pigeons successful a 1924 survey — but the eggs did not hatch, the diary study reads.

Researchers judge the condor findings basal out, erstwhile compared to different instances successful birds.

“Unlike different examples of avian parthenogenesis, these 2 occurrences are not explained by the lack of a suitable male,” Cynthia Steiner, subordinate manager of the alliance’s conservation probe division, said.

California condors person agelong been considered endangered. About 200 adults are known to beryllium successful the wild, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says.

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, a nonprofit conservation enactment astatine the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, says it hopes to place different cases of asexual reproduction.

“These findings present rise questions astir whether this mightiness hap undetected successful different species,” Ryder said.

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