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

RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF MORTALITY IN CAPTIVE PINK PIGEONS (NESOENAS MAYERI) HOUSED IN EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS: 1977-2018

The Mauritian pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) is vulnerable, with only 400 individuals remaining in the free-living population. A European captive population was established in 1977 and a European Endangered Species Program (EEP) in 1992. The EEP long-term management plan recommends integrating the EEP and free-living Mauritius populations through pigeon transfers. A retrospective mortality review of the captive population was performed as part of a disease risk assessment process and to inform infectious disease screening prior to exporting captive birds to Mauritius. Six hundred pink pigeons from 34 institutions died from 1977 to 2018. Each individual was categorized according to age at time of death. Records from 404 individuals were categorized according to cause of death. Neonatal mortality (39%) and juvenile mortality (10.8%) were most commonly caused by noninfectious diseases (52% and 54.4%, respectively), including parental neglect and failure to thrive in neonates and nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in juveniles. Trauma (43.1%) was the most common cause of mortality in adults, with significantly higher mortality in males from interspecific aggression and in females due to intraspecific aggression. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium, and Escherichia coli were the most common infectious causes of adult mortality, and E. coli was the most common infectious cause in neonates. The following infectious diseases were identified as priorities for pre-export disease risk analysis, though not all caused mortality: Y. pseudotuberculosis, M. avium, Trichomonas spp., Chlamydia psittaci, and Coccidia spp. Husbandry changes have been made over the years to mitigate many of the noninfectious causes of mortality. These include alterations to nest sites to reduce neonatal trauma and abandonment, ultraviolet light supplementation and diet optimization to reduce metabolic disorders, improving enclosure design to reduce impact trauma, allowing females rest periods during breeding season, and avoiding housing with certain species.

EVALUATION OF CELL PRESERVATIVES ON THE INTEGRITY OF ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE CHICKEN (TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO ATTWATERI) WHOLE BLOOD SAMPLES OVER TIME

The processing of blood samples can be delayed during health assessments of wildlife populations in distant locations. The use of whole blood preservatives may be useful in these situations. However, there is scant information regarding their use in nonmammalian species. This study tested the efficacy of two cell preservatives on whole blood collected from 12 Attwater's prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). The preservatives used were Streck Cell Preservative© (SCP), a proprietary proteinaceous stabilizer developed for human flow cytology and validated in other mammalian species, and formalin, which is commonplace in histopathology, but its use in whole blood has been limited to fish. Grouped blood samples were treated with heparin, SCP, or formalin and analyzed at 0, 1, 4, and 7 days after collection for packed cell volume (PCV), complete blood count (CBC), and cellular morphology. SCP effectively preserved most cell types in Attwater's prairie chicken blood samples over a period of 7 days, with the exception of monocyte cell counts, which were significantly reduced from day 0. Formalin maintained total white blood cell counts at baseline levels measured by hemocytometer, but irregular staining characteristics prevented accurate analysis of differential counts or cellular morphology. Both preservatives altered PCV compared with the heparin control, but these values remained constant over time, highlighting the need for method-specific reference intervals. The validation of SCP in Attwater's prairie chickens supports its potential for use in other avian species for the collection of accurate hematologic data when the processing of blood samples may be delayed.