EFFECT OF REARING METHOD ON CHUKAR SURVIVAL

4 Pages·1992·1.5 MB·English

by  Bartel T Slaugh

CJreat Basin Naturalist52; m)-i 25-28
EFFECT OF REARING METHOD OX CIIUKAR SI:R\'1\AL
BartclT. Slaiidi laii \. I*lin |a\ A. Roherson' , and X. I'nil |(
—
AUSTHACT, Suni\alnl adult cliukar-iuiprintcd.>j;anic tarui isil)liii<j;/liiiiuaii-inipiiutcdLandwildihnkaiswasc-oniparcd
inthreereleases(twosites),(.'(jinhiiiedresultsiuilicatesimilari/'< .05)sniAJxalloradult-iniprinti-dandwildcliukars.hut
lowerrates (P< .05) forijanie farm elmkars. Withearlyl)ilia\ioral conditioning, somepotentialexistsforusingcaptive-
icarcdiluikarstoestalilisli new populations.
Kci/tcoiil.s:cltiikdi: clinkiirrcariiiti.piirlri(hj(\ iinjtiiiitiit'j^.hiluiiior.iii'i}j}(i'^(iti(ni. suiriidi
Captixe-reared game liirds ixdea.sed in the tems, andcliukar habitat was mimicked b\ co\-
wild geiieralK liaxe poor .siinixal (CsermeK' et cMTUg the floor with gra\('l. small shrubs, grass,
al. 19(S3, Krauss et al. 1987). A probable reason and rocks.
is beha\aoral deficiency (Hessler et al. 1970, (Jhicks were removed troiu the iucubatoi-
HoseberrN' et al. 1987). Hess (1973) reported within 5 h afterhatchingand transferred to the
that imprinting is indispensable for surx-ixal of brooding facilitv' without allowing exposure to
an animal nnder natnral conditions. Tlialer humans. Sixadultcliukarswerereleasedsothat
(1986) and IDowell (1989) obsened imprtned the chicks could \istiall\ imprint on th(Mu.
pr(xlator-a\()idance behavior ot "properK" Whenfourweeksold,thechickswereallowed
imprinted game birds. Postnatal \isnal imprint- to access a 5.6 x 22.9 x 2-m outdoor pen. Tlic
ing as well as embrvonic anditon" imprinting outdoorpen wasxisualK isolated becauseofits
Baile\ andRalph 1975)appeartobeimportant. solid walls and the netting-coxered top. ("oxer
(
Om" objectixe was to e\ahiate snni\al ot cap- xx'as proxided bx' grass, small shnibs, and txxo
tive-reared(adultchnkar-imprinted\s.conven- deciduous trees.
tional game farm-reared) and wild chnkars A haxx'k mod(d was passed (ropc/pullex'
(Alcctohs chiikar). .sxstem)ox-erthepenandadogintroducedtwice
xxeeklx so chicks could as.sociate adults" alarm
Mi<:tii()13s .\xd Stuidv .\he.\s callsxxitli predatorpre.stMice.
Came Farm (>'hnkars
.Adnlt-imprinted C'hnkars
(Ihnkars (same genetic stock as the adult-
(;hukar (;ggs were expensed dming the final
imprinted birds) xxere rai.sed at the Utah Dixi-
wxoecealkizoaftioinnsc.ubTahteiornectoordriencgos,rdferdomadtuhlet(cChoirineklalr sion ofW ildlife Resources (DWR) C^ame Farm
in Springxille, Utali, underconxentional meth-
LaboratoiA of ()rnitliolog\ Libran of Natural ods (broock'd in l)ox-tx]-)e brooders, fed and
Sounds, appeared to fit the descri])tion of (he watered xxith humau conlacl [sibling/hnman-
\"oraclallyiczaaltli"odnessocfriinbceudb1a)t\-iSntgookresbr(o1o9d6i1n)g(rheec(n)c\dh(.n(-1 xixmeperkisntoefd]a,ge)a.ntl moxcd into ni<j;lit pens at lour
karswere not a\ailablc).
The brooding facilitA was a6.1 x 15.2x2.1-m Wild Cliukars
rF(o)oulmtr\atHtel.iseeBarrcihghUanimtY(oPuronxgo,llUutia\ehr)s.itF\e'c(nlBYaUn)d anWd Hilidocmhauskarrasngxexse,reUttarha.p3p-ed5 .iAuugtuhset D19u8g9w.ax'
watei" were provided tiiioiigh automatic s\s-
"^DAcuptahrotriitioewnlhootmBcootma'smpiainiiil(lHc.iiiicicp'slSicoiirilndcch.eBanils<^hh-.csisnti'(Vl.oiins;UniM-rsit),I'nno.llaliS4(i()2.
^Utahi:)ivisioiiofWildhfV'Hcsourtcs.1.596UVslNorthTemple.SaltL^ikeCity.Utah84116.
DepartmentofAnimalScience,BrighamX'onngUniversity.Pro\'0.Utah84602.
25
26 GuKAT Basin Naturalist [Volume 52
Results
Release Site I
Antelope Island, located in the Great Salt Release 1
Lake in Da\'is Count); Utah,varies in elevation
from 1282 m to2010 m. In size it is 24 x 8 km All adult-imprinted and game farm chukars
and co\ers 10,409 ha. Rock)' slopes and grass- (both radio and patagial tagged) died within
landarethedominantecologicalt)'pes.Average three weeks of release (Fig. 1) with no differ-
\earl\- high and low temperatures are 38.9 and ences between groups (P < .05). Wild birds
-12.2 C, respecti\elv (Jones 1985). Antelope decreased in number shortly thereafter but
Islandhadself-peipetuatingandself-sustaining experiencedhighersunival rates (F < .05)than
chukar populations until the severe winter of captive-reared groups. Coxote predation was
1983-84,afterwhichnochukarswereobsened. the principal cause of mortality.
On8August 1989(releaseI),80chukarsfrom Release II
each group were released, 13 ol which were
equippedwith haclqxick-mouut radio transmit- There were no significant (F < .05) differ-
ters (Slaugh et al. 1989, 1990). On 2 May 1990 ences (Fig. 1).
(release 111) 65adult-imprinted, 65 game farm, Release III
and 4 wild chukars were released; 9 chukars in
egarcohupcapwteirvee-rfeiatrteedd gwrfi)tuhp arnaddiaoll 4troanfstmhiettweirls.d imMporritnatleidtyanwdaswislidmiglraoru(pFs<but.0h5)igfhoerrt(hFe<adu.l0t5-)
Radios were attached to even' fifth bird cap- forgame farm chukars (Fig. 1).
tured from thecapti\'e-rearedgroups to reduce All Releases
wbiiatshfpratoamgieaalsteag(jsfacanpdtulreeg.baAnldls.biCradpstwievre-erefiatrteedd Combined data forreleases 1, 11, and III indi-
chukars were 14 weeks old in release I and 22 ciamtperisnimtieldargr(oFu<ps,.05b)otshunhia\vailnfgorhiwgihledra(nFd<adu.l0t5-)
wreeleekassesolwderien trrealpeapseed3II-I5. AWuigludstch1u9k8a9r.s in all \alues than game farm birds (Fig. 1).
Eighteen coyotes (Canis latrans) were
Discussion
remox'cdfrom site Iprecedingthe 1990release.
fMiorrsttatlwiotNwedeaktsa,wtelru^eurweeceokrKdedthedraeila\ftedru.ring the During relciLse 1, wild birds mo\ed (juickh' to
high, I'ockA areas, whereas captive-reared birds
Release Site II remainedatlowerelexations andsoughtco\'erin
the sp(U\se vegetation, where they suffered liigh
Th(> second studv site was the Sterling
mortalits'. Immediatelv following demise ofcap-
IIollowA\ind Rock Ridge areaofSpanish Fork
ti\e-rearedbirds,wildbirdsbegan tobekilled.
C1a4n7y0omn.toT3h0is57amr,eaanrdantgheesdoimninelaenvtateicoonlogfircoaml thAedgurleta-tiemsptrifenatredreasnpdonwsieldtboirhdusmdaenmopnrsetsreantcee,d
t)pe is mountain brush. Annual precipitation whereas game farm birds tolerated approach.
a\erages between 38.8 cm and 52 cm. Average
These findings correspond with those of
y-e3a0rlCy,hirgehspeacntdi\lelo\w.temperatures are 40 C and CsenneK' et al. (1983), who found that red-
legged partridges {Alectoris nifa) displaved
On 25 September 1989 (release II), 1 1 birds greaterfearresponse towardhumanswhen iso-
Ironi each group were radio-marked and lated from them during imprinting. The flight-
released at site II. Captive-reared groups were ier behaxior of the adult-imprinted chukars
21 weeks old. Mortalit) was recorded daiK for would likeK' proxide more hunting sport than
t^\'()weeks, then weekK thereafter. game farm birds but did not offer sufficient
Statistical AuaUsis suivixal ad\antage under the existing predator
j)r("ssur('.
Data were anaKy.ed using a Product limit Adult-imprinted birds appareiitK had a
(Kaplan-Meier) estimator; a k)g rank test was behaxioral adxantage overthe game farm birds
used to compare sunixal cui-ves (Pollock et al. tliat was not ex|oressed in release 1 but was
1989).Onl) radio-markt>dbirdswerecompared demonstrat(Hl at release II, apparentK due to
sincetheirobsenationwasnotbiasedb\ ea.seof lowerprcxlator pressure. Wildchukar m()rtalit^•
approach and proximit)- to release site. was similar forreleases I and II.
19921 CiiikAH 1U:ari.\(; 27
RELEASE RELEASE
II
Adultimprinted
O Gamefarm
A Wild
RELEASE ALL RELEASES
—
Fig. 1.ChiikarsunivalprohahilitN cuncs: i 1i release I (Aiitt-lope Islainl. SAugust-15Noveniher 19S9) nodifference
((PSp<ani0s.h5)FboertkweCeannygoanm,e5laSrenpitaenmdheard-ul1t2-iDmeprcienmtbederelm1k9a8r9.s).—hnutobdoitflfiegrreonucpe.ss(aPre<lo.w0e5r) tbheatnweweilndgerhounkpars.;s;(3()2)rerleelae.aseseIIIII
h(iAgnhteerltohpieuiIsglaanmde.2foMramyc-hSukAaurgsn;s(t4)1a9l8l9r)e—leansoesd—iffneorednicfefser(ePnc<es.(0F5)<be.t0w5e)ebnetawdeuletn-iamduplrtinitieiidiiarniiditwediladn,dbuwitldli,otbhutgrko)uwpesrafroer
iiamefarmchukars.
Re.sult.s irom rcle;i.se III iiulicated tliat .sur- ACKNOW LFDCMF.XTS
vival on Antelope Island for all groups was
greaterthan in the prexious \'ear, especially for We express appreciation to the Utah Dixision
the a(lult-ini[)rintecl group. The iinproxcnu^nt ofWildlife Resources for project hmding, also
was attributed to predator remoxaf wliieli nia\ to M. A. Lar.s.son and J.—Fillpot (Utah Dixision
whieldhebnierfidcsiailn eg\oeondihnabeisttaatb.liSsehaisnogntroatnstjh)heuiyte(aHrl oPfarPka)rksanadndBReYcUreaatnidon DAWnRtelpoepresIosnlnaenldSwtahtoe
ina\ ha\'e affected sunixal as altematixe pre\' as.sisted with the project, and to C;. C. Pi.\ton
abunchmce and predator location on the island (BYU Statistics Department) for statistical
nia\ ha\e \aried. |()nkel (1934), however, assistance.
obsened little difference in chiikar siuAival
relatedto sea.son of release. IJTFHATI'I^K ClTFD
Combined data from all releasees suggest that
captixe-reared chukars can be usedtoestablish H\ii i;v K. D., and K. M. Rm.imi. 1975. The effects of
embiAonicexposure topheasant\ociJi7,ationsin later
wildpopulationsifgixcnproperearlvbehaxioral callidentificationbvchicks.Canadian |ournalofZ(X)I-
conditioning.ThisstiuK, howe\er,doesnotpro- og\ 53: 1028-1038.'
\ide intorniation on reproductive success.
28 Ghkat Basin Naturalist [N'olunie52
CSF.HMKLV. D.,D.Mainakdi.andS.Si'ano. I9S3. Escape- F()l,l.()( K K. II., S. R. WiNTFHSTFIN. C. M. BUNCK, and
reaction of captixc \oung recl-Iej;j;ecl partridges P. D.Glinis 19S9.Sur\i\alimalvsisintelemetn'stud-
{Ah'ctoris nifa) reared with orwithout\isual contact ies: the staggered entn' design, foumal of Wildlife
witli man. AppliedAnimal Etholog) II: 177-1S2. Mimagement53: 7-15.
DouKl.l. S. 19S9. Hearingandprcdation.TheGame('on- RosKBKHHV.J.L.,D.L.ELF.swouTii.aiKlW.D.Kli.mstka
Hkss.seEn.anHc.N A1m9i7i3i.alImRpir'i\niteiwng2:0:e<aS.r'>h-<S8e.xperience and tlie o1f98w7i.ldC,osmepmair-waitlidv,eapnodstg-aremleeafsieu^bmebhoalviiwohritaesn.dWsiulrdvliivfael
IlKssdNLe'KovUse.tlroaEpn.m.denHetianRlh.olTpcskl\sCcthokokmh,pioalDno.ygyBN.eofwSiYMaoFtrFtk.a.c4ham7ne2dnptp.M..\Ma.n SiAiJSc;ooicih.ineBst.ytToB,unlJl.e1tT9i9n0F.1l5iE:fnf4de4fc9ht-s4o.5f5Jb..aAc.kpRaochkfrkasdoion.triiumisdmiNt.teRr
Nlll.SON J1.970. A biotelemetr\- study of sunixal of attachmenton chukarmating. Great Basin Naturalist
50:379^80.
pen-reared pheasants released in .selected habitats. Slai(;if B. T, T Flinufhs. A. Robekson M. R.
JonesJ.ouCr.naDl.of19W8i5l.dlAifmeaMnaunaalgoefmtehnetva;s3c4:ul2i6u-7-f2l7or4a.ol Ante- aOtltsaocnh.me;nmtdJ.fNo.rP.chJuokahrnss.toGnreJa.1t98B9a.siRnadiNaotutrraalnissmtitt49e:r
lope Island State Park. Da\isCo., Utah. Unpublished 632-636.
master's thesis, Brighani Young Universits, Provo, Stokfs. a. W. 1961. N'oice antl social behaviour of the
Utiili. 101pp. chukarpartridge.Condor63: 111-127.
JoNKKL.C. M. 1954.Acomparativestuck oi I'allandspring Thalfi^ E. 1986. Studies on the b—ehavior of some
rele;ised chukarpartridges (Alcctoris'graced (hitkarl Plia.sianiddc chicks attheAlpenzoo Innsbnick. Pro-
Unpublished master's thesis, Montana State Unixer- ceedings of the III" International Symposium on
sit\. Bo/.eman. Pheasants inAsia 1-12.
Kkaiss. G. D., II. B. (;ha\KS and S. M.Zf,h\anos I9S7.
Sur\ival of wild and game-farm cock pheasants
releiisedin Pennsvl\ania.Journalof WildlifeManage- Received 12June 1991
mt'nt51:55.5-559. Accepted 14 Jdniuin/ 1992