massivetortoise.org

[spikethebest]

Welcome to The Massive Project !
This Project is with the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). You can read the original Massive Project Proposal at:

Massive Project

Here are 2 abstracts from the TSA meetings:

Playing the Numbers Game: Massive Head-starting and Reintroduction of Mojave Desert Tortoises Utilizing the Reproductive Potential of Backyard Pets Abstract 1

Evolutionary and Genetic Trade-offs in Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizi) Headstarting and Restoration Abstract 2

Ross Kiester: rkiester [at] gmail.com
Jim Juvik: jjuvik [at] hawaii.edu
Ken Nagy: kennagy [at] biology.ucla.edu

 

[Shelly]

Your program sounds like the one I asked about in my "3 questions about Desert Tortoises" thread.

 

[Madortoise]

I only read the first page but am wondering....aren't diseases that captive bred tortoises carry transmitted through bloodstreams into their eggs/fetuses?

 

[spikethebest]

there have been quite a few experiments where data shows that there is no vertical transmission of any of the diseases the mother may carry.