Husbandry protocols for the Band‐tailed pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata albilinea, at the WCS, Bronx Zoo for future conservation management programs

Abstract

From 2015 to 2016 we determined the husbandry protocols involved in the captive rearing of the Band-tailed Pigeon (BTPI), Patagioenas fascinate albilinea, for use as a tool in the future management of like extant and extinct avian taxa. Current and historical ex-situ conservation management of BTPIs and the closely related Passenger Pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, is limited in scope and required further examination. Focus on the BTPI within zoos and private aviculture facilities is currently lacking. New pressures on the wild populations and future examination of the parameters involved in the possible restoration of the Passenger Pigeon may rely on a complete understanding of these conservation management techniques. Here we report on the establishment of a colony of BTPIs, at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and detail the progress attained. A confiscated group of BTPIs was presented to WCS and allowed us to set up the colony, document the husbandry involved, and monitor neonatal development and the factors that influence that development. The information has provided a better understanding of the BTPI and has implications for the future conservation management of this and like species.

Comparing the Effect of Different Management and Rearing Systems on Pigeon Squab Welfare and Performance after the Loss of One or Both Parents

“…Young squabs totally depend on their parents for feeding and brooding. Male and female pigeons share the responsibility for taking care of their squabs [7,8]. In the case of the loss of one or both parents, the squabs’ lives may be affected, or at the very least their behavior and performance.…”

“…This nourishment must satisfy their needs in order for them to show improved body weight, growth rate, and general signs of health [5,6]. Both male and female parents share the responsibility of feeding and taking care of their squabs [7,8]. Newly hatched squabs aged 5–7 days old feed on crop milk secreted by the crop of the parent, which is produced in similar quantities in both parents [9].…”

De-Extinction

“…The woolly mammoth program has already edited 44 loci in vitro and is currently researching stem cell embryogenesis pathways in mice for the in vivo phases of de-extinction [ 64 , 117 ]. The passenger pigeon program has established foundational animal husbandry research for the in vitro, in vivo and ex situ stages [ 113 , 118 ] and is currently working to develop a strain of domestic pigeons for model functional genomics research [ 119 ]. Significant ecological (in situ) insight for passenger pigeon de-extinction has been gained from in silico genomic data [ 58 ] and ex situ/in situ dietary experiments [ 112 ].…”

“…The species’ ecology has been clarified further through ex situ observations of band-tailed pigeon digestion and in situ experiments to understand seed dispersal and predation [ 112 ]. The program has studied the animal husbandry of the template species [ 113 ] and used tissues from one of the Bronx Zoo individuals of that study to improve the Murray et al genome sequence to a chromosomal level assembly (unpublished). Recently the program has begun genetic engineering research using domestic pigeons to facilitate functional genomics research in vivo [ 114 ].…”