Can we Print a Better Future?

CAN WE PRINT A BETTER FUTURE?

by Sofiia Pyshnieva

When we talk about 3D printing, we think of products in healthcare, construction or manufacturing. But what if I told you that the future of wildlife conservation is closely related to the advancement of this technology? Recently, several high-profile 3D printing campaigns focused on animal welfare have captured the attention of a global audience and sparked widespread discussion. Is a new era on the doorstep?

Era of additive manufacturing

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is defined as the creation of the specific physical object by adding material layer by layer according to the digital blueprint of the object. The technology was developed roughly 40 years ago, but the global industrial market of 3D printing is expected to grow to USD 5.3 billion by 2025 [2]. And what’s more fascinating is that over the last few decades, this technology has found its way to wildlife conservation!

Under the water…

3D-printing can be used for several purposes: to recreate habitats, to recreate body parts in the lab, replace body parts of the living creature or create equipment for wildlife managers (drones, traps, etc.) [2, 3, 4]. Honeycombs, rhino horn, coral tree – these are just few examples of what have been printed over the last few years. What’s prominent is that the technology can be made applicable to a wide range of taxa and habitats.

In 2013, Australian group Reef Design Labs launched the project Modular Artificial Reef Structure (MARS) [10]. Their ceramic 3D printed modular systems were designed to replace dead corals and support existing marine populations with additional structures, attractive for underwater dwellers [5]. And there is more! In 2016 renowned ocean conservationist Fabien Cousteau (yes, yes, the grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau) and The Ocean Learning Centre initiated similar projects to restore coral reefs, endangered by climate change [4, 8]. The team claims to have already saved more than 15,000 corals across the globe! Isn’t it fascinating? Especially, taking in to account, that 3D technology has “just” started to be real! 

…On the ground

Jumping from the water to the land - there are much more inspiring stories. Since 2016 USA-based company, Hardshell Labs, is working with populations of vulnerable Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in California [6, 13]. The young tortoises were always under the substantial threat to be caught and eaten by ravens. Thus, conservationists decided to help reptiles in their unfair battle with birds by printing mobile decoys of the infant tortoises. Decoy shells are much stronger than in original tortoises, and alters predator behavior, helping to increase the chance of desert tortoises to survive. The project “Techno-tortoise” was so innovative and elegant that The Turtle Conservancy decided to recreate 3D printing experiment in South Africa with the critically endangered Geometric tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) [12]. 

Not to forget about the invertebrates: in Australia, Michael Candy created a 3D printed robotic flowers and 3D-printed honeycombs to allow bees to spent more time on pollination and nectar collection than on building the comb or risking their life on quest for nectar [9]. Isn't it sweet?

Spare body parts

3D printing technology seems to have unlimited potential for nature conservation, both on population and individual levels. There are number of stories about how animal life was saved with the help of 3D printing. From tortoises healed with medical prosthetics and implants for damaged shells [9], to the beautiful story of creating an artificial beak for an injured toucan in Costa-Rica [7].

Despite these bright examples, not all ideas of 3D printing application are unambiguous. There is a controversial initiative that raises questions and arguments both for and against its use (I am talking about synthetic rhino horns…) In theory, the initiative aims to flood the Chinese and Vietnamese markets with 3D printed horns [1, 11], to reduce pressure on the rhino populations being illegally killed to collect horns. On one hand, the idea is great. The artificial horn from the laboratory has a similar appearance, chemical signature and even genetic compounds [3]. On the other hand, the bioidentical horn is not “original” and buyers will look for “magical real” horns to fulfil their desire for a luxurious trophy. This could further increase poaching and illegal trade [1].

Both economists and NGO activists, wildlife managers and politicians are at a crossroads - how can we use the opportunities presented by new technologies effectively? And, if the strategy with rhino pseudo-horn works, should we replace the original pangolin scales, ivory, and animal bones with their bioidentical counterparts?

To print, or not to print…

…that is the question. 3D printing already has a myriad of different uses. The new (and old) problems require new solutions, and 3D printing is leading the way. It still requires complex digital, financial support and knowledge of a baffling software, but that's why we study and develop wildlife technologies - to make them our daily helpers and change the world for the better. A new era is on the doorstep and we should be ready.

Sofiia Pyshnieva is a PhD student at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (Czech Republic). Her research is focused on the post-translocational behaviour change of antelopes, and she is currently working with the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve in the UAE and studying the Arabian oryx population living there.

1. Chen, F. (2017) The Economics of Synthetic Rhino Horns. Ecological Economics 141.
2. Industrial 3D Printing Market by Offering, Application, Process, Technology, Industry and Geography - Global Forecast to 2025. Report. October 2020.
3. Mi Ruixin & Shao Z. & Vollrath F. (2019). Creating artificial Rhino Horns from Horse Hair. Scientific Reports. 9.
4. Perry, C. T., & Morgan, C. M. (2017). Bleaching drives collapse in reef carbonate budgets and reef growth potential on southern Maldives reefs. Nature Scientific Reports 7, 40581.
5. Ruhl EJ, Dixson DL (2019) 3D printed objects do not impact the behavior of a coral-associated damselfish or survival of a settling stony coral. PLoS ONE 14(8).
6. Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. 1996. Gopherus agassizii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1996: e.T9400A12983037.
7. http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/toucan-nation/
8. https://www.fabiencousteauolc.org/coral-reef-restoration
9. https://news.nau.edu/makerlab-tortoise-shells/#.X576xIhKjIV
10. https://www.reefdesignlab.com/
11. https://www.savetherhino.org/poaching-crisis/synthetic-rhino-horn-will-it-save-the-rhino/
12. https://www.turtleconservancy.org/news/2017/10/how-3d-printing-could-save-baby-tortoises
13. https://hardshelllabs.com/
14. https://michaelcandy.com/SYNTHETIC-POLLENIZER