Abstract
Abstract COVID-19 has changed the world at unprecedented pace. The measures imposed by governments across the globe for containing the pandemic have severely affected all facets of economy and society, including scientific progress. Сonservation research has not been exempt from these negative effects, which we here summarize for the BioRescue project, aiming at saving the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), an important Central African keystone species, of which only two female individuals are left. The development of advanced assisted reproduction and stem-cell technologies to achieve this goal involves experts across five continents. Maintaining international collaborations under conditions of national shut-down and travel restrictions poses major challenges. The associated ethical implications and consequences are particularly troublesome when it comes to research directed at protecting biological diversity – all the more in the light of increasing evidence that biodiversity and intact ecological habitats might limit the spread of novel pathogens.
Highlights
Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been increasingly recognized as a global threat
Сonservation research has not been exempt from these negative effects, which we here summarize for the BioRescue project, aiming at saving the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), an important Central African keystone species, of which only two female individuals are left
The international team performing an oocyte collection on Najin, one of the last northern white rhinoceroses wearing face masks on August 18, 2020 in Ol Pejeta, Kenya Photo taken by Marvin Mwarangu via free access adherence to social distancing and access of visitors to the procedure were installed
Summary
Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been increasingly recognized as a global threat. Enclosure at Tierpark Berlin for supporting the BioRescue project with embryo via free access transfer (ET)-recipients has been postponed and may be entirely canceled due to severe financial losses of the zoological gardens during the COVID-19 crisis.
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