Scientific research has been a major focus at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center since its inception.  Many collaborations with biological institutions were formed in order to best utilize the unique collection and the

avian expertise of Mike Lubbock and his staff.

Listed below are just a few of the more notable research projects of recent years.  

Collaboration with National Zoo Conservation and Research Center and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Sylvan Heights’ facilities are critical to a waterfowl genome banking project currently underway. This project is investigating the effects of freezing on duck sperm, as it relates future potency.

Collaboration with National Zoo Conservation and Research Center

Sylvan Heights works closely with Dr. Mike Sorenson on a project attempting taxonomic reclassification of waterfowl using DNA analysis of blood and feather samples. Sylvan Heights was an invaluable resource because it has a significant majority of the world’s waterfowl in one location.

Collaboration with the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Each year the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine sends their veterinary students to Sylvan Heights for a day-long seminar on Aviculture and Avian Disease Treatments. Organized by Laurel Degernes, DVM, MPH, topics relating to husbandry, disease control, and waterfowl management are all addressed. Residents as well as students of avian and zoological medicine receive training at the Center.

The veterinarian college also sends students to Sylvan Heights on internships to conduct special projects as part of their training.

Collaboration with Tallahassee University

Dr. Siwo de kloet requested the assistance of Sylvan Heights on a project that would attempt to determine the age of particular waterfowl lineages. He has also worked cooperatively with Sylvan Heights to collect blood samples from a wide variety of waterfowl species for use as baseline data for Blood Sexing of waterfowl.

Collaboration with the Fort Worth Zoo

A trip to Jamaica was organized to assess the Masked Duck and West Indian Whistling Duck populations in the wild. Sylvan Heights also supervised the construction of a breeding facility for stiff-tailed ducks at the Hope Zoo. This site was used to begin the captive breeding program for the Masked Duck.

Collaboration with the University of North Carolina, Department of Microbiology

Sylvan Heights has been working with Dr. John E. Newbold, allowing him access to the collection for a study of the Duck Hepatitis B Virus. This virus exists in most waterfowl, but rarely causes disease. However, the virus seems to be from the same ancestral form that converted into the Human Hepatitis B Virus, which does cause disease in humans.

Most of what has been learned about the human form of Hepatis B Virus has come from studying the waterfowl virus. The hope is that one day these studies conducted at UNC-Chapel Hill will allow researchers to understand the human form of the virus well enough to cure patients who become infected. Dr. Newbold considers his partnership with Sylvan Heights an invaluable asset to his research.

Collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife

A large aviary has been constructed at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center containing a flock of North American Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa). A U.S. Fish and Wildlife toxicologist will study eggs produced in the aviary to determine if toxins in the Roanoke River are affecting the survival rate of young Wood Ducks. The Roanoke is a protected national scenic river in North Carolina and a major stopping point for migrating birds.

For more information, see RARE & ENDANGERED SPECIES and OTHER CONSERVATION EFFORTS.