Rescuing the African penguin

The population of African penguins is declining at an alarming rate. Off the coast of Africa, where this species originates from, there were around 4 million individuals at the beginning of the 20th century. – At the time we started breeding these birds in our zoo, the number had already dropped to only about 50,000. today it has dropped to 30,000 in the wild. Initially, in the 19th century, the population declined due to the mass extraction of guano from the penguins' breeding sites, which was used as fertilizer in agriculture. The penguins dug burrows in it to nest. Several-meter-thick layers of this material were removed down to the bare rock, destroying the breeding environment. Another historical reason was the mass collection of penguin eggs for consumption, considered a delicacy. About a million eggs were collected annually from just one island off the coast of South Africa. Both practices were only halted in the 1970s. Currently, the main threats are overfishing, leading to a lack of food in the penguins' habitats, and ecological disasters caused by increased maritime traffic – explains the doctoral student, emphasizing that considering such a rapid decline in numbers, scientists predict that without intervention, this species could become extinct in the wild within the next 15-20 years.

The main goal of Paweł Borecki's research is to develop a method for cryopreserving the semen of African penguins, which would enable the creation of a biobank of genetic resources for critically endangered species. The semen is collected from the penguins through dorso-ventral massage. As the doctoral student explains, this is a well-known and commonly used method for collecting semen from birds – it is based on the physiological reaction of the male reproductive system. The whole procedure takes a few minutes, requiring the capture of a selected male from the colony, its immobilization, and the conduct of the massage with semen collection.

The Wrocław Zoo, where Paweł Borecki works daily, has one of the largest colonies of these birds in the world, numbering 106 individuals. The breeding successes of the zoo, which contributed to the replenishment of other breeding groups with about fifty reared individuals, provide a solid foundation for further research and conservation efforts. – As I work with African penguins, we decided that the project should focus on this species. It's one of the most endangered of the eighteen penguin species inhabiting our planet. We want our penguins, serving as ambassadors for their cousins from Africa, to contribute to saving the wild population. We hope that creating a semen bank will allow us to preserve genetic diversity in the future – emphasizes Paweł Borecki, explaining that the population maintained in zoos worldwide is large and stable, so the risk of species extinction is low. Thus, a semen bank is needed for the potential reconstruction of the species in the wild and to maintain a large genetic pool for population restoration.

Applied doctorate

The idea for the doctorate emerged after a conversation with Prof. Agnieszka Partyka, with whom Paweł Borecki had already collaborated during his master's studies. Today, she is his supervisor. – Our conversations about the cooperation between the Wrocław Zoo and the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences led to the applied doctorate aimed at the conservation of African penguins – says the doctoral student. An applied doctorate fosters an environment conducive to the development of collaborative partnerships between universities and the socio-economic landscape. This initiative, orchestrated within the Doctoral School's structure, emphasizes the practical training of doctoral students through direct collaboration with their employers.

As the doctoral student emphasizes, the cooperation with his supervisor is exceptionally good. Professor Agnieszka Partyka, a respected specialist in the field of bird reproduction, is not only an excellent mentor but also a motivational support in moments of doubt or exhaustion from the workload. Their joint work in science and nature conservation illustrates the importance of synergy between practice and science in the fight to preserve endangered species. By combining research on bird reproduction with advanced cryopreservation methods, the doctorate has the potential to become a breakthrough in the field of genetic conservation and biodiversity preservation.

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  BioExplor project unveils basic science solutions for health and industry

  The BioExplor project, under the leadership of visiting Professor El-Sayed R. El-Sayed is paving new paths in fungal research, with findings that could revolutionize the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. This project, based at UPWr and carried out within the BioActiv LRG led by Professor Filip Boratyński, is exploring the untapped potential of endophytic fungi, leading to discoveries that span from potential new antibiotics to the production of natural pigments.

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  UPWr becomes a member of international projects under the Interreg Central Europe program

  The Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences will participate in three new international projects carried out under the Interreg Central Europe Program, funded by the European Regional Development Fund. These are foodCIRCUS, Climate_CRICES, and URBIO BAUHAUS.