This redwood, in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Santa Cruz, might be genetically identical to some of its neighbors. Photo: kqedquest.

QUEST has an inordinate fondness for albino redwoods. It all started with the Science on the SPOT video Albino Redwoods, Ghosts of the Forest. Then there was a radio story, and a few blog posts. And last week QUEST revisited the research in two new Science on the SPOT videos about the ghosts of the forest. The video Revisiting Albino Redwoods, Cracking the Code focuses on QUEST blogger Barry Star and Stanford professor Ghia Euskirchen’s research on how the albinos are genetically different from “normal” coast redwoods. In Revisiting Albino Redwoods, Biological Mystery, Santa Cruz Professor Jarmila Pitterman wonders how albino redwoods’ total lack of chlorophyll affects their physiology and ecology. After producing all these videos, QUEST Producer Chris Bauer still had questions.

Chris saw three albino redwoods, arranged in a straight line, a short distance from one another. He wondered if these three redwoods, yards apart, might be genetically identical. Maybe they sprung from the same individual. To understand how this is even possible, you need to know about the numerous ways that redwoods can reproduce—some of which involve cloning themselves.

New redwood trees can come about in four ways: through seeds, cuttings, stump sprouts, and root sprouts.

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

Like all plants, redwoods can grow from seeds. Redwood seeds come from those tiny, inch-long redwood cones that fall from the branches in autumn. Each cone contains one to two dozen tiny seeds. These seeds were fertilized with redwood pollen; they are mix of genetic material from the parent that made the seed and the parent that made the pollen. However, redwood seeds have a notoriously low germination rate. Hardly any of them will grow into a plant. Which brings us to the next method of redwood tree generation: cuttings.

Redwood trees that you buy from a nursery probably began as cuttings—branches that were cut from a tree. To make a good redwood cutting, horticulturists will cut a branch from a young tree, or sapling, because cuttings from young trees tend to survive better. They treat the cutting with hormones to encourage growth, and plant the cutting in a special blend of soils. After a few months, about 25-35% of the cuttings have formed roots; the others do not survive. Once the cuttings have established, they can grow quite quickly—up to 7 feet in height in a single growing season. Regeneration from existing branches doesn’t just happen in the nursery—it happens in nature too. When a branch falls off a redwood tree, say in a storm, the branch can come in contact with the soil and develop roots. These provide the branch with nutrients and water, and before long the branch has grown into a tree. Trees grown from cuttings or from branches are genetically identical of the tree that donated the branch. (For the same reason, California’s vineyards are very low in genetic diversity; see this article in the New York Times.)

Stump sprouts on a coast redwood. Photo: kqedquest.

Many a majestic redwood tree began as a stump sprout. Stump sprouts are tiny growths from the base of existing trees. They can grow out of a healthy tree, or a tree that has been logged or damaged by fire. Redwoods have extensive underground root systems, which are impervious to trifling things like lumberjacks’ axes and fire. Trees that grow from stumps grow quickly and have a good chance of success, because the trees are automatically connected to a large root system. Multiple stump sprouts from a single trunk form what is called a fairy ring: a ring of trees, with a circular clearing in the middle, because the original tree breaks down. Stump sprouts are generally genetic clones of the original tree. However, the albino redwoods are stump sprouts with a mutation (or two, or three…). The genomic research happening Stanford will hopefully shed some light on how this mutation happens.

A fairy ring. The ring of trees has sprouted from the moss-covered trunk in the middle. Photo: Swiv.

Redwoods don’t just sprout from stumps; they can also sprout new growth from their roots. Redwood roots extend horizontally under the soil. Many redwoods live in flood-prone ecosystems, on the banks of rivers. When redwood forests become flooded, sediment piles up on the surface of the soil, burying the roots a bit deeper than they were before. Redwoods will grow another set of horizontal roots, a little closer to the surface. By digging deep into the ground and counting the horizontal layers of roots, people can tell how many floods a redwood has endured. When new growth sprouts from the surface roots, the original tree soon has a neighbor that is basically an identical twin. This is what Chris thinks is going on with the three albino redwoods, all in a row.

Hopefully Chris can test his hypothesis in a year or two, when the redwood genome is sequenced and we know what mutation (or mutations) cause albinism. Are the three neighboring albino redwoods mutants that sprung from genetically identical trees? Maybe that tree’s genotype is just a little different from that of an albino—and the mutation that causes albinism is very likely to occur. Or maybe the three albinos are a series of chlorophyll-free coincidences. We’ll have to wait patiently for the genome data. But, for a coast redwood that can live for 2,000 years, the wait won’t be long at all.

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Happy 15th Birthday, Claude! Image courtesy of Ron DeCloux © California Academy of Sciences.

I have a birthday month in common with Claude, the Albino Alligator at the California Academy of Sciences! On Wednesday morning, September 15, 2010 – Claude celebrated his golden birthday and turned 15 years old. He was serenaded by staff and guests alike signing happy birthday and several children, also with September birthdays, fed Claude cupcakes that aquarium biologists had made. They were not chocolate or vanilla but fish flavored especially to suit Claude’s taste buds.

When born, Claude only weighed 2 ounces. At fifteen, he has tilted the scales at 181 pounds and sprouted to over eight feet. At his last physical earlier this month, biologists counted 76 teeth. He can often be found on his favorite rock in the swamp exhibit which is heated between 78 and 95 degrees. I first saw Claude when he arrived with Bonnie back in 2008. He was taken out of his crate given and vet check and then put back into the crate and hoisted over the railing into his new home. Since then, Bonnie has moved to a farm in Florida. "Because he is albino, he has reduced vision. Claude would go into the water and bump into things, and Bonnie would snap at him…Claude has been more active since Bonnie left," biologist Brian Freiermuth said. "He is better by himself, as he was stressed out with her there. He has interactions with his turtles. He is eating well. He knows his name and responds to whistle commands."

One morning, when I was with the biologists, I saw Claude coming to whistle and station calls. They would use the whistle to show audibly where they were throwing food. The biologists and Claude work very well together during feeding time! Claude has become a favorite amongst staff and guests alike and is become one of the icons of the new Academy.

What is wonderful about this is that he also conveys our mission in a truly unique way. Carol Tang, Director of Public Engagement, noted, “There are no white alligators in the wild because they're too show-offy…They get eaten in the wild. So, you can use that to talk about food chains and adaptation. You can talk about how alligators are green because they live in the swamp where there are plants and trees and they can be camouflaged…You can also use Claude to talk about variation, which is the fuel of evolution. It's one mutation in Claude's DNA that causes this kind of albinism. That shows how sensitive our DNA can be.”

Claude can live up to 80 years in captivity which is a far measure longer than he would have survived in the wild. He is still a young alligator on his golden birthday and he will be a beloved and celebrated icon of the Academy for years to come.

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photo by Andrew McCormick, Graphic Designer at the Academy

The swamp tank was an iconic feature of the old academy complete with a seahorse railing. It has been recreated with some additional touches. There is now a viewing window from the aquarium level so guests have the opportunity to either look down at the swamp's inhabitants or get eye level with them in the aquarium. For months, we have seen this tank filled and drained to test water quality. Last week the tank was filled and readied for animals.

Two large coolers were brought in filled with water and specimens. A host of aquarium staff took turns catching catfish and crayfish out of the coolers and transplanting them into the swamp by way of ladder. The swamp tank has no entrance so the only way to get animals transplanted in the tank is either ladder or crane. The crane has been tested numerous times with weight bags for larger animals. Last week the crane transported live cargo for the first time. The alligator snapping turtles were given a physical on the floor, complete with cutting of toenails and then were hoisted into the tank by crane. As exciting as it was seeing the turtles and fish acclimate to their new home, staff came out in bunches before noon today to see the final additions.

Two alligators came in the back entrance of the Academy around 11am this morning. They were individually carted in wooden crates. The female was taken out of her box first with many aquarium staff on hand for safety. The Academy vet and animal health staff gave the alligator a quick physical and herded her back into the wooden box for final transport. Her box was then fitted onto the crane by half of the attending staff while the other half of staff readied the male alligator for his physical. The male came out fighting and it took quite a bit of staff to restrain him. Staff let out a collective yelp when seeing him, as he is an albino alligator and the white of his skin was striking.

After both physicals, the alligators were housed back in their crates & they were hoisted one by one into the swamp. An alligator handler was waiting in the tank to steer the crates and coax the alligator out of it once it was set down. He unhooked two of the ropes securing the crane and lifted up the back of the crate so each alligator could slide easily in to the water. The female went into the water with no hiccups but the male took more coaxing. Even with lifting the back of the crate, he wasn't budging initially. But with a steep incline for the crate, he eventually slipped into the water. Collective cheers and clapping occurred when both alligators were in the tank. The audience of staff had been safely watching the whole episode from the catwalks above the tank. All in all, the whole transport from truck to tank took two hours.

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