Retrospective Review of Mortality in Captive Pink Pigeons (Nesoenas Mayeri) Housed in European Collections: 1977–2018

Shopland, Sara; Barbón, Alberto Rodríguez; Cotton, Sam; Whitford, Harriet; Barrows, Michelle

doi:10.1638/2019-0121a

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Trauma in pink pigeons is one of the leading causes of mortality. 68 Combined with the preference to export young birds, at a certain time of the year, there is a desire to keep the quarantine period short with minimal repeated handling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other husbandry factors or non-infectious diseases leading to a reduction in food intake may also have contributed, such as poor care by foster parents during the neonatal period, or aggression whilst paired for breeding, both of which have been reported in this species. 68,72 In a retrospective mortality review of 404 European captive pink pigeons only one death was attributed to trichomonosis. 68 This contrasts with a mortality review of the free-living population which reported 52% of deaths (22/43) attributed to this parasite.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…68,72 In a retrospective mortality review of 404 European captive pink pigeons only one death was attributed to trichomonosis. 68 This contrasts with a mortality review of the free-living population which reported 52% of deaths (22/43) attributed to this parasite. 17 It is possible that a more virulent T. gallinae strain exists in Mauritius, but the Mauritian pink pigeon population could also be less resistant to disease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…64 Infectious diseases identified in a retrospective mortality review of the European captive pink pigeon population were also taken into consideration. 68 Based on these results a list of diseases to be screened was formulated (Table 1). Some pathogens were not tested due to one or more of the following reasons: low risk of the pathogen causing clinical disease; lack of availability of commercial tests; lack of information relating to the current strain; limitations of handling and sampling small birds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18,30 Both have caused significant mortality in European captive pink pigeons. 68 A large number of endoparasites and ectoparasites can cause disease in Columbiformes. 35,39 Many are found at low levels in clinically healthy birds with disease occurring when individuals are immunocompromised or environmental conditions allow parasitic load to increase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health Screening of the European Endangered Species Program Captive Population of the Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas Mayeri)

Shopland¹,

Barbón²,

Richardson³

et al. 2021

Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine

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The population of the Mauritian pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) fell to fewer than 20 individuals in the 1970s. Following intensive conservation efforts, the free-living population is now estimated to be 470 individuals. However, due to the population bottleneck the species remains at risk of extinction due to genetic loss and inbreeding depression. A European captive population was established in 1977 and a European Endangered Species Program (EEP) was formalized in 1992. As birds in the EEP captive population possess unique alleles not observed in the surviving free-living birds, the EEP management plan recommends transferring EEP birds to Mauritius to improve genetic diversity. Health screening of the current EEP population to identify circulating pathogens was performed.Forty-two birds from three collections in the UK and one in Jersey were screened for a wide range of pathogens, present clinically or subclinically, including important viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminths. Eleven birds tested positive for at least one pathogen: Trichomonas spp. (5), Yersinia kristensenii (2), Yersinia aleksiciae (1), coccidial oocysts (3) and strongyle ova (3). None of the positive birds showed overt signs of clinical disease, although two birds with Trichomonas spp. had suboptimal body condition. Genotyping of one T. gallinae sample revealed a type C strain (low pathogenicity). The results from this screening will contribute towards a disease risk assessment, to create a pre-export protocol for translocation of captive EEP birds to Mauritius.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%