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ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Zoo wants Dr. Ruth to help endangered amphibians make a love connection.
Ruth Marcec (mar-SEK’) is not to be confused with the famed human sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. But as a veterinarian and reproductive physiologist, Marcec has unique expertise in the science of amphibian breeding and among her responsibilities as the new director of the zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center, Marcec is tasked with encouraging frogs and salamanders to get down.
And with about half of the world’s 7,600 known species of amphibians under threat, her work is integral in saving them.
Marcec has developed a grading scale for amphibian ultrasound procedures used at zoos and aquariums around the globe. The 30-year-old travels to other institutions to assist with their amphibian breeding efforts.