European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                John Mackinnon Hoad of the wildlife Lund s Panda preservation protect and Kenneth Johnson a biologist at Iha University of Tennessee 81 Knon Villo. Estimate that about 35 such isolated populations exist and thai most have lawyer than 20 individuals. This puts Iho species in grave danger from inbreeding and demographic crashes according to the nature article by Stephen j. O Brien and John a. Knight. O Brien is a geneticist at a National cancer Insl Lule Laboratory in Frederick md., and Knight is manager of the Doha zoological gardens in Qatar. When the number of animals in an isolated Community in so Low. They Are especially vulnerable to Chance events. A new generation could be either male or female. Or the major Breeding mate could be killed by poachers. If the pandas Are unable to Migrate freely moreover they Are at greater risk from such natural events As the periodic dle out of Bamboo species. About every 40 years Bamboo plants Flower and die. It takes a year Lor them to regenerate from seed and As much As 10 years Tor the plants to support a Panda Community. Free ranging pandas can move to less favored varieties of Bamboo. The recent population decline in the Wolbong Reserve May be attributed in part to a Bamboo die out scientists said. O Brien said the genetic effects of the isolated populations could be insidious eventually leaving the pandas More susceptible to devastating epidemics and reproduction difficulties a Community population of at least 50 is considered More effective for healthy Breeding. Connecting corridors of Bamboo and sheltering Trees Between the remaining Panda habitats Are a key to the preservation strategy recommended by scientists Tor the world wildlife fund and the chinese ministry of forestry. The Only Hope or pandas in  said William g. Conway director of the new York zoological society will depend on the ability of the chinese to put together larger contiguous pieces of Panda habitat the preservation strategy also emphasizes expanded research into Breeding pandas in Captivity. The experience so far has been frustrating. Part of Iha prob Tam Lias in the nature of pandas. They Are solitary creatures. A female comes Inlo heat for Only two or three Days each year. And it is no always certain that a male partner will respond. Although zoos have had some Success with artificial insemination scientists have difficulty identifying the hormonal signs of ovulation and thus Are not sure when to perform the procedure. Chaher said it look scientists at the Wolbong Reserve five years to produce the Glrst birth by artificial insemination. After Conception and birth a Panda s survival is still problematical. Al birth a Panda cub weighs less than five ounces and Many never five to be 200-Pound adults of 51 pandas born Between 1963 and 1963 at the Beijing zoo Only 19 lived for More than two months a survival rate much lower than that of other zoo bred species. In an fort to encourage Panda mailing Conway helped design a Panda Breeding facility Al the Wolbong Reserve. He Calls ii a Panda Lelum. Each Panda has its own Little House and backyard which faces on an Alley running by the Row of enclosures. Any Panda can Lake the Alley out to a vast enclosure to feed on Bamboo. Or a female in heat can Parade up and Down until she attracts a responsive male similar facilities Are being established at other reserves. The ultimate purpose Schaller Sald should be to Breed More pandas and introduce them Inlo the wild. Tit Nadu i known  pandas Kunming immunities. Farming trapping Timber cutting disturb the a a natural habitats i thickets. Officials Are preserve natural linking remaining of Abl .wj.v-,w a corridor Marty isolated communities have few than 20 pandas each making them  to  effects of into Reading and sudden a Crow m population resulting from loot food and changing tax a riot of population. Saturday april 11, 19b7 tuning in on songbird dialects by Delthia Ricks United press International Hen Iho tiny Cowbird Breaks into song members of Ite species understand the melodious dialect that can communicate anything from a desire to mate to an ability to defend local territory. Biologists specializing in the unusual Field of songbird dialects Are finding some striking parallels Between the biological and social function of language in people and Songa in Birds. There Are Many shared aspects in the development of human speech and the whistles of  said biologist Stephen re Leslein of the University of California Santa Barbara. The various species of songbirds generally learn their whistles just like languages end dialects Are Learned by people he said older Birds do not take the younger ones aside to teach them. But the younger Birds do learn by  Rothstein who studies he Brown headed Cowbird of California s Sierra Nevada mountains said he dismisses theories that the Birds Ere genetically programmed to sing certain melodies. He and his team have found that the Cowbird has a variety of vocalizations dialects which include a flight whistle that is used Only while he Birds Are flying and a set of different songs usually performed while they Are perched together. These dialects have to be earned and the Birds also have to know when to use certain whistles said to Leslein who describes the songs As the Bird s form of communication. Other songbirds in the family of blackbirds to which the Cowbird belongs have similar Light and perching songs but with variations so noticeable that any Bird with a dialect from outside of the Region is quickly recognized. The scientist has found that even when an outsider tries to fit in by singing in the regional dialect the Bird can encounter great difficulty trying to learn what amounts to a new Lingua Franca. Just As people learn languages belter earlier in life songbirds learn dialects easier when they Are Young Rothstein said. But they learn up to a certain Point in Ihler development then have difficulty learning new dialects later  Rothstein said his studies suggest the Bird learns Iha sounds it needs to know for communication during a critical period of development a biological similarity comparable to the human acquisition of sounds in Early childhood that Are needed to communicate with others. He said just As some bostonian for generations have said pahk the Cah Park the car and probably Wilt persist in doing so for generations to come songbird dialects also remain constant despite outside influences. Among other things a male songbird s dialect is a Way of warning rival males to slay Clear of the territory. To Leslein hypothesizes that songbird dialects play a major role in local mating practices. In fact so much so his studies using tape recordings show that female cowbirds prefer males who sing Only in the regional dialect. This suggests they re not As interested in males with the foreign dialect As they Are in males with the local  Rothstein said people similarly lend to pigeonhole those who have minor differences in their speech. Often looking Down in those who speak with a regional accent. Page 17the stars and stripes