Survival, Movements, and Reproduction of Released Captive-Reared Attwater's Prairie-Chicken

Abstract

A captive Attwater's prairie‐chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri; APC) breeding program was initiated in 1992 to avoid extinction of the APC, currently one of the most endangered birds in the United States. We addressed the efficacy of using pen‐reared birds to supplement wild populations or to establish new populations. From 19 July 1996 to 30 October 1997, we released 119 pen‐reared APC on Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (APCNWR) and Galveston Bay Prairie Preserve (GBPP), in an effort to supplement wild populations. We used radiotelemetry to determine survival, movements, and reproduction of pen‐raised APC. We evaluated the effects of acclimation period, date of release, transmitter style, and release habitat on post‐release survival. Birds held in acclimation pens for 14 days experienced higher 6‐month survival than those held for 3 days (47.4% and 19.4%, respectively). We did not observe a difference in survival for different date of release, release habitats, or transmitter styles. Survival 2 weeks post‐release was similar for birds released in 1996 and 1997 on APCNWR (61.7% and 50.8%, respectively) and on GBPP (75.0% and 81.8%, respectively). Movements and monthly ranges for juvenile males and females were similar to those of wild APC. Overall site and year nest success was 44%. Recruitment on APCNWR was zero, while recruitment on GBPP was unknown. Future research is needed to determine why broods did not survive.

Demography of Female Greater Prairie-Chickens in Unfragmented Grasslands in Kansas

“…Our estimates of the probability a female will initiate nesting (100%) was high and consistent with previous studies (90-100%; Wisdom and Mills 1997). However, our apparent nesting success (20.6%) was considerably lower than other reported rates (26%, Robel 1970;30%, Horak 1985;48%, Hamerstrom 1939;50%, Peterson and Silvy 1996) including those for the endangered subspecies of Greater Prairie-Chicken (Attwater's Prairie-Chicken T. c. attwateri; 39%, Lockwood et al 2005). Observed rates of nesting success are biased high because they do not control for nests destroyed by predators before discovery by an observer.…”

Double-brooding observed in a Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanachus phasianellus columbianus) in Idaho

“…Efforts to raise sharp-tailed grouse in captivity for release into the wild were abandoned in Michigan due to difficulties in raising birds to maturity (Ammann 1957). Although Attwater's prairie chickens are currently being successfully bred and raised in captivity, their survival in the wild has been extremely low (Lockwood 1998, Silvy et al 1999. Continued supplementation has been necessary, with no indication that the captive-bred birds are capable of establishing a self-sustaining wild population.…”

Success of captive-rearing for a threatened shorebird

“…The establishment of viable populations can be hampered when captive-reared individuals fail to recruit into the breeding population (Maxwell & Jamieson 1997, Lockwood et al 2005, Brown et al 2006. For highly social shorebird species, presence of conspecifics at release appears to strongly influence recruitment of captive individuals into wild populations.…”

“…Captive animals may be especially vulnerable in the period immediately following release because they lack crucial behavioral skills such as predator avoidance (Lockwood et al 2005). There is evidence that anti-predator behavior has both innate and learned components (McLean et al 1999, Griffin et al 2000, Galbraith et al 2007, Saunders et al 2013, and, consequently, pre-release predator recognition training can improve survival rates of captive-reared animals (van Heezik et al 1999, White et al 2005.…”