Parthenogenesis: Virgin Births Provide Hope for the Endangered California Condor
California condors are a species that have hovered on the brink of extinction for decades, and captive breeding programs established in the 1980s have brought the species’ numbers back from just 22 in 1982 to 525 at the end of 2019. Now, a phenomenon called parthenogenesis, observed in two cases of California condors, brings up many questions around the birds’ reproductive ability and genetic variation.
California Condor. Photo by Chuck Szmurlo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction whereby females eggs develop into embryos without fertilization from a male. While this phenomenon is commonly observed in fish, reptiles, and plants, it is rare or unknown in birds such as the California condor. As part of the captive breeding program of California condors, Oliver Ryder and his team developed a genetic database for all California condors such that breeding programs can work to maintain genetic variation in condor populations and prevent inbreeding, as described in an article published in October...