Herps in the News

The article I read is called Robot Reptile "Released" into Wild to Aid Breeding Research and I found it on the National Geographic site. This article discusses research that is being conducted on the Tuatara in New Zealand where researchers are interested in how male Tuatara establishes dominance which consequently leads to reproductive success. In order to study the aggression between males and how they maintain their reproductive fitness among females, postdoctoral student Jennifer Moore worked with Weta Workshops to build a robotic male model of a Tuatara. This model has allowed for the researchers to manipulate behavioral responses in this model to understand how male Tuataras compete for a mate. Ultimately, this model will allow the researchers to see which males are winning the dominance fights and as such breeding with the females. Jennifer Moore believes her data will reveal a correlation between competitive success and reproductive success in the Tuatara male population. Also, the information they obtain from the model they hope to use in captive breeding programs and Tuatara translocation.  The model was cast from an actual Tuatara male that had died in captivity so the body size and dimensions would be highly accurate. The researchers spent five weeks on Stephen Island near New Zealand utilizing the model and catching on camera the reactions and behaviors of other Tuataras towards the robotic Tuatara. They find interesting results in which the robot would need to be modified in order to act more like a male Tuatara instead of a female. The original body signals they had built into the robot had been more female in nature than male. But, luckily they have learned a lot about the challenges the males face when competing against each other. However, there is still a lot the researchers don’t know and hope to discover through time using this model and observation data along with quantitative data.

            I think the utilization of a robotic model to understand Tuatara’s behavior in competition and in reproductive success is an excellent idea because the author of the article mentioned that 95% of the time Tuataras sit motionless so the use of a robot is perfect for this species. The robot can remain motionless until approached by another Tuatara and then can respond according to how the researchers control the robot’s mechanisms. This set up has a realistic aspect to it which can help yield accurate data. Also, the fact that the researchers had the model cast from a Tuatara specimen adds to the naturalism of the experiment. The only problem I had is if the male Tuatara they took the cast from had a size and shape that would make it a very dominant male type or only an average male type. I know that body size and shape can play a role in dominance between males and the article never discussed it. It would be interesting to find out if the model’s size and shape inhibited the researcher’s exploration into male competition. Also, the fact that the Tuatara’s don’t have expected patterns of commitment when mating could complicate the researcher’s objective of picking apart reproductive success in males. They will probably have to account for how female behavior may affect a male’s reproductive success past just the male to male interactions. I predict that this experiment will take a lot longer than intended because more problems will probably arise with the Tuatara’s behavioral responses. Also, how Tuatara use their sensory systems may affect the experiment because they may be able to tell the robotic Tuatara isn’t like them. This may change how the male Tuatara’s interact with the robot which could cause potential research problems. Overall I think robotics are the future not only in research but helping to preserve species migratory patterns and even protecting endangered species from harm. I think with every experimental design adjustments can always be made to improve the results.  

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070606-robot-reptile_2.html  

This picture shows postdoctoral student Jennifer Moore with the robotic male Tuatara.