Attacks on the endangered Attwater's Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) by black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) infected with an avian blood parasite

We retrospectively evaluated 20 y of using predator-deterrent fences to mitigate unusually high nest predation for the critically endangered Attwater's prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido attwateri at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. Fences were constructed of 0.9-m high, 0.32-0.64-cm mesh hardware cloth, with 15.2-m long sides, and were staked at the bottom to discourage predators from going under the fence. Fences were placed around nests at = 3.2 d of incubation. Eighty-two percent of fenced nests were successful versus 12% for unfenced nests. Daily survival rate (DSR) increased from 0.9159 for unfenced nests in 1997-2011 to 0.9916 for fenced nests during 2000-2019. Fencing did not increase abandonment or reduce the proportion of eggs that hatched in successful nests. After 2012, we reduced fence sides from 15.2 m to 7.6 m in length. Larger and smaller fences were equally effective with respect to DSR and proportion of nests that were abandoned. The median proportion of eggs that hatched from successful nests was 6% higher for larger fences versus smaller fences, but this difference was not statistically significant. Predator-deterrent fences substantially increased Attwater's prairie-chicken nesting success in this study, and may represent a viable management strategy for increasing nesting success for other populations of ground-nesting birds with high conservation value.

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Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

10.2173/bna.grpchi.02 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeff A. Johnson ◽

Michael A. Schroeder ◽

Leslie A. Robb

Keyword(s):

Tympanuchus Cupido ◽

Prairie Chicken ◽

Greater Prairie Chicken

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Temperature, wind, vegetation, and roads influence incubation patterns of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in the Nebraska Sandhills, USA

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2018-0130 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 91-99

Author(s):

Ian R. Hoppe ◽

Jocelyn O. Harrison ◽

Edward J. Raynor IV ◽

Mary Bomberger Brown ◽

Larkin A. Powell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adult Survival ◽

Tympanuchus Cupido ◽

Ambient Temperatures ◽

Wind Speeds ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Nebraska Sandhills ◽

Avian Incubation ◽

Prairie Chicken ◽

Greater Prairie Chicken ◽

Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus

Avian incubation involves behavioral decisions that must balance trade-offs between the incubating bird’s survival and current and future reproductive success. We evaluated variation in incubation off-bout duration and frequency among Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus (Brewster, 1885)) in the Nebraska Sandhills, USA. Greater Prairie-Chicken life history favors incubation behaviors that prioritize success of the current breeding attempt over adult survival. Previous observations suggest incubating females make these behavioral decisions based on ambient temperature conditions, their own body condition, and predation risk. We monitored nest attendance by females at 30 Greater Prairie-Chicken nests to identify proximate cues used to make behavioral decisions regarding incubation. We recorded 930 incubation off-bouts. Females took 1.9 ± 0.7 off-bouts/day (mean ± SD), each with a mean (±SD) duration of 43.3 ± 24.1 min. Off-bouts were shorter in duration at higher wind speeds, at lower ambient temperatures, at nests with less cover, and at nests closer to roads. Females were most likely to leave the nest during mid-morning and evening, as are most gallinaceous birds, and incubation off-bouts became less frequent later in the season. We did not observe differences in incubation behavior between nests that failed and those that successfully hatched one or more chicks.

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Simulation of reproductive stages limiting productivity of the endangered Attwater's prairie chicken

Ecological Modelling ◽

10.1016/s0304-3800(98)00111-2 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 111 (2-3) ◽

pp. 283-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Markus J. Peterson ◽

William E. Grant ◽

Nova J. Silvy

Keyword(s):

Prairie Chicken ◽

Attwater's Prairie Chicken

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REVIEW OF MORTALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF NEONATAL TREATMENT IN CAPTIVE ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE CHICKENS (TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO ATTWATERI)

Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine ◽

10.1638/2016-0297.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 671-679 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lauren Mulreany ◽

Joseph Flanagan ◽

Christine Molter ◽

Lauren Howard ◽

Maryanne Tocidlowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tympanuchus Cupido ◽

Neonatal Treatment ◽

Tympanuchus Cupido Attwateri

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Genetic Sequencing of Attwater's Prairie Chicken Avian Poxvirus and Evaluation of Its Potential Role in Reticuloendotheliosis Virus Outbreaks

Avian Diseases ◽

10.1637/0005-2086-65.3.414 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 65 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Erik Hofmeister ◽

Fiona Georgousi ◽

Melissa Lund ◽

Pamela J. Ferro ◽

Joe Flanagan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Potential Role ◽

Reticuloendotheliosis Virus ◽

Genetic Sequencing ◽

Prairie Chicken ◽

Attwater's Prairie Chicken

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THE AVIAN BLOOD PARASITE BABESIA MOSHKOVSKII (SCHURENKOVA, 1938), WITH A RECORD FROM CORVUS SPLENDENS VIEILLOT IN PAKISTAN

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z57-066 ◽

1957 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 783-795 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Marshall Laird ◽

Faiyaz A. Lari

Keyword(s):

Domestic Fowl ◽

Blood Parasite ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

House Crow ◽

Avian Blood

A description is given of a haematozoan from an Indian house crow, Corvus splendens Vieillot, from Karachi, Pakistan. This organism is identified as Babesia moshkovskii (Schurenkova, 1938), following a review of the literature. Other hosts for B. moshkovskii include the domestic fowl, which also harbors the better known babesioid Aegyptianella pullorum Carpano, and eagles, herons, kestrels, and owls in Tadjikistan (U.S.S.R.), Indo-China, and Egypt.

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