WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:03.663 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:09.464 --> 00:00:11.559 line:15% Giant pandas have been a symbol of conservation 3 00:00:11.559 --> 00:00:14.350 line:15% for over half a century and during this time, 4 00:00:14.350 --> 00:00:16.799 line:15% research efforts have improved the status 5 00:00:16.799 --> 00:00:20.114 of giant pandas so much so that we've been able 6 00:00:20.114 --> 00:00:22.369 to down list the species from endangered 7 00:00:22.369 --> 00:00:24.114 to vulnerable status. 8 00:00:24.114 --> 00:00:26.482 However, there's still more work to be done. 9 00:00:26.482 --> 00:00:29.746 Populations have become isolated and fragmented 10 00:00:29.746 --> 00:00:32.020 throughout their natural habitat in China 11 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:34.665 making it difficult for giant pandas to locate 12 00:00:34.665 --> 00:00:37.315 potential mates during the breeding season. 13 00:00:37.315 --> 00:00:39.858 There's also limited information available 14 00:00:39.858 --> 00:00:42.307 on how giant pandas communicate across 15 00:00:42.307 --> 00:00:44.401 these fragmented landscapes. 16 00:00:44.401 --> 00:00:46.639 Thus, zoos and research institutions, 17 00:00:46.639 --> 00:00:49.121 like Mississippi State University are working 18 00:00:49.121 --> 00:00:51.348 to improve giant panda reproduction 19 00:00:51.348 --> 00:00:55.218 by better understanding what chemical cues they use 20 00:00:55.218 --> 00:00:57.859 to communicate during the breeding season. 21 00:00:57.859 --> 00:00:59.860 Giant pandas are a monoestrous species 22 00:00:59.860 --> 00:01:03.154 meaning that the female is only sexually receptive 23 00:01:03.154 --> 00:01:06.644 once per year during the spring breeding season 24 00:01:06.644 --> 00:01:09.575 and during this time, male and female giant pandas 25 00:01:09.575 --> 00:01:12.929 will scent mark and urinate, leaving chemical cues behind 26 00:01:12.929 --> 00:01:15.360 in order to locate potential mates. 27 00:01:15.360 --> 00:01:19.935 Thus, we hypothesize that female giant panda urine 28 00:01:19.935 --> 00:01:22.081 contains volatile compounds used 29 00:01:22.081 --> 00:01:24.577 to signal sexual receptivity. 30 00:01:24.577 --> 00:01:26.237 In order to test this hypothesis, 31 00:01:26.237 --> 00:01:29.108 we first conducted a series of behavior trials 32 00:01:29.108 --> 00:01:32.355 with male giant pandas housed at San Diego Zoo, 33 00:01:32.355 --> 00:01:35.858 Memphis Zoo, Toronto Zoo, and Zoo Atlanta. 34 00:01:35.858 --> 00:01:38.674 We exposed these male giant pandas 35 00:01:38.674 --> 00:01:43.472 to unknown female estrous urine and non-estrous urine. 36 00:01:43.472 --> 00:01:45.184 We then recorded the amount of time 37 00:01:45.184 --> 00:01:47.907 that these male giant pandas spent investigating 38 00:01:47.907 --> 00:01:50.928 these urine samples, like Lala is showing here 39 00:01:50.928 --> 00:01:52.809 in figure one. 40 00:01:52.809 --> 00:01:55.843 The next step is to extract and identify 41 00:01:55.843 --> 00:01:59.401 those volatile compounds present in the urine samples 42 00:01:59.401 --> 00:02:02.290 that could be eliciting these behavioral responses. 43 00:02:02.290 --> 00:02:04.722 In order to do this, we used a solid phase 44 00:02:04.722 --> 00:02:08.275 micro extraction fiber shown here in the second figure 45 00:02:08.275 --> 00:02:12.289 and then identified and analyzed these samples 46 00:02:12.289 --> 00:02:14.723 using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. 47 00:02:14.723 --> 00:02:17.313 The final step is to relate the changes 48 00:02:17.313 --> 00:02:19.587 in the abundance of these specific compounds 49 00:02:19.587 --> 00:02:22.575 found in the urine samples, denoted by the blue line 50 00:02:22.575 --> 00:02:26.273 here in our final figure, to that amount of time 51 00:02:26.273 --> 00:02:28.435 those male giant pandas spent investigating 52 00:02:28.435 --> 00:02:31.455 those urine samples, shown here by the black bar graph 53 00:02:31.455 --> 00:02:33.364 in our final figure. 54 00:02:33.364 --> 00:02:36.180 When compounds are both high in abundance 55 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:39.235 and present in those urine samples that elicit 56 00:02:39.235 --> 00:02:41.647 a high male behavioral response, we can start to see 57 00:02:41.647 --> 00:02:44.529 how these may be considered to be pheromones, 58 00:02:44.529 --> 00:02:46.753 and thus signaling sexual receptivity. 59 00:02:46.753 --> 00:02:50.179 By linking chemistry to the behavior of giant pandas, 60 00:02:50.179 --> 00:02:52.658 our research hopes to identify pheromones 61 00:02:52.658 --> 00:02:55.649 that could be used to improve the natural mating conditions 62 00:02:55.649 --> 00:02:59.028 in captivity, and also to potentially connect 63 00:02:59.028 --> 00:03:01.524 those isolated populations in the wild. 64 00:03:01.524 --> 00:03:02.357 Thank you.