Dr. George Olah discusses using DNA to stop the illegal parrot trade. He works with Australian National University (ANU) College of Science on his latest project involving the creation of a DNA database to assist in tracking parrots caught up in the illegal parrot trade. This will also benefit birds eligible for reintroduction back into the wild by establishing where their native habitat is.
Parrots are arguably the most trafficked birds in the illegal wildlife trade. It is difficult to know where the birds came from both for prosecution of the illegal traders and for reintroduction of the birds back into the wild. This project is starting in Indonesia, which is considered the highest priority for parrot conservation. Low-cost sequencing technology will be used on samples of feathers and blood of chicks in the wild and then entered into a genetic database which authorities can consult when investigating parrots taken from the wild. This will be similar to CODIS, used by the FBI, for tracing humans! Parrots will be traceable to specific islands. The data will also be used to identify major illegal trade routes so authorities can focusing on finding out who is doing the poaching and shutting them down.
Oftentimes parrots are confiscated now and end up in rescue centers with no ability to know which specific island birds came from, limiting the ability to reintroduce them back into the wild after rehabilitation. With this database, hopefully their origins can be identified, which is critically important in helping populations recover that are already highly endangered.
Dr. Olah is a scientist and conservation geneticist mainly working on parrots and other birds. He received his Master of Science degree in Zoology at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hungary and his PhD in conservation biology from Australian National University. He has participated in many field based research projects on parrots in Central and South America. He worked for the Tambopata Macaw Project in the Peruvian Amazon for several years and has been a lodge manager for one of the largest Peruvian ecotourist companies. He co-founded Wildlife Messengers (wildlifemessengers.org), a nonprofit organization creating scientific and educational film projects based on their importance for conservation and whether a resultant film can actually contribute to decision making and protection. He is the principle investigator and conservation geneticist for this genetics project at ANU.
Visit stopparrottrade.org to learn more.
Australian Geographic has a nice TH-cam video about the project at th-cam.com/video/jPuoFvld6_U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=pXUaNKX0-AuOKWtp.