Survival and Reproduction of Repatriated Jamaican IguanasHeadstarting as a Viable Conservation Strategy

Wilson, Byron S.; Alberts, Allison C.; Graham, Karen; Hudson, Richard D.; Bjorkland, Rhema; Lewis, Delano S.; Lung, Nancy P.; Nelson, Richard R.; Thompson, Nadin; Kunna, John L.; Vogel, Peter

doi:10.1525/california/9780520238541.003.0019

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…A conservative estimate is that at least 40% of the radio-marked headstarted iguanas survived for more than one year and 30% survived more than two years in the wild. This survivorship is similar to the values (30-40%) documented for the Jamaican iguana headstarting project (Wilson et al, 2004). A major achievement of our initiative was that during the 2004 nesting season, two breeding females turned out to be headstarted iguanas released in August 2002, but without radio-transmitters.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…A major achievement of our initiative was that during the 2004 nesting season, two breeding females turned out to be headstarted iguanas released in August 2002, but without radio-transmitters. Reproduction by headstarted iguanas was inferred to occur in the Jamaican iguana (Wilson et al, 2004). However, this is the first certain record of headstarted Cyclura breeding in the wild.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Thus, searching for iguanas with inactive transmitters provided additional survivorship data. Specifically, one individual was recaptured 14 months later (June 2003) and three others were recaptured 27 months afterwards (July 2004). Depending on the time of recapture, these animals gained between two and three times their biomass at release (table 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survival, dispersal and reproduction of headstarted Mona Island iguanas, Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri

Álvarez¹,

Tolson²,

Pérez-Buitrago³

et al. 2007

Appl. Herpetol.

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The endemic Mona Island Iguana, Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri, is considered endangered, and exhibits relatively low population numbers and reduced recruitment of juveniles to adults. A headstarting program was initiated in 1999 to increase the effective population number. Two groups of headstarted iguanas were released in April and August 2002, after reaching a target size. Most of the released iguanas have since been observed to be active and in good health. Two females bred in 2004, the first certain record of reproduction by headstarted Cyclura iguanas in the wild. Eight radiotracked individuals had large dispersal ranges, with mean Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) of 10.7 ha (range 2.6-22.2 ha) and mean distances covered of 288 m (range 471-6396 m). We discuss the future development of the headstarting program for Mona Island iguanas.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survival, dispersal and reproduction of headstarted Mona Island iguanas, Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri

Álvarez¹,

Tolson²,

Pérez-Buitrago³

et al. 2007

Appl. Herpetol.

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“…They are showing adequate survival (40%) and adaptation. Although this is a conservative value because only individuals that are found are considered, it agrees with other headstarted iguana survival values (9-40%; Wilson et al, 2004). Therefore, the implementation of the headstart program for the Mona Island iguanas seems to be an appropriate conservation strategy for augmenting the number of juveniles in the wild population.…”

Section: Recovery Initiatives For the Mona Island Iguana (Cyclura Stesupporting

confidence: 81%

Conserving The Puerto Rican Herpetofauna

Joglar,

Álvarez,

Aide

et al. 2011

Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas Volume 2: Regional Accounts of the West Indies

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Abstract. With a total area of 8900 km 2 , Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles. It is divided in three physiographic regions or areas of relief: the mountainous interior, the karst region, and the coastal plains and valleys. The island comprises six ecological life zones: subtropical dry forest, subtropical moist forest, subtropical wet forest, subtropical rain forest, lower montane wet forest and lower montane rain forest. The herpetofauna of Puerto Rico consists of 25 species of amphibians (19 native, six introduced) and 56 species of reptiles (52 native, four introduced). The goal of this paper is to describe some of the present studies directed towards the conservation of Puerto Rican herpetofauna. Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti, E. jasperi and E. eneidae have not been seen or heard since 1976, 1981 and 1990, respectively, and are probably extinct. Since 2000, the potential causes of amphibian declines in Puerto Rico have been studied, and a synergistic interaction between climate change (increased dry periods) and disease (chytridiomycosis) have been proposed as an explanation for the patterns observed. Recovery efforts for Peltophryne lemur include a captivebreeding program, reintroductions island-wide educational outreach, protection and restoration of existing habitat, and the creation of new breeding ponds. Among reptiles, the first conservation efforts to protect Epicrates inornatus were limited to trying to halt collection and hunting. However, current strategies to preserve the boa include gathering basic biological information, habitat conservation, and educational outreach. Recent efforts for the conservation of Trachemys s. stejnegeri combine three research approaches to clarify the status of local populations: a mark-recapture-release study, field monitoring of reproductive activity (i.e., nocturnal patrolling to identify nesting activity), and field assessment of the potential impact of introduced species, particularly identification of predatory species and exotic turtles. Recovery initiatives for Cyclura stejnegeri include management of invasive © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 APPLIED HERPETOLOGY 4: 327-345 Also available online -www.brill.nl/ah 328 R.L. Joglar et al. mammals, a headstart program for hatchling iguanas, and the assessment of the etiology of a condition causing blindness in adult iguanas. A reforestation project aimed at recovering a local herpetofaunal assemblage after disturbances in a limestone valley in northern Puerto Rico is discussed. As population sizes of common colonizers such as Eleutherodactylus and Anolis increased, larger forest-interior and predatory species like Epicrates inornatus, Alsophis portoricensis and Anolis cuvieri followed. Finally, the Mona Island marine turtle monitoring program is discussed and compared to other similar programs in Puerto Rico. As these and other similar conservation efforts provide scientifically based management recommendations, we hope to succeed in conserving the diverse herpetofauna that characterizes Puer...

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“…Management of rock iguanas (genus Cyclura ) throughout the Caribbean currently involves a range of translocation strategies. For example, headstarting of captive‐bred or captive‐reared wild iguanas for release at maturity has been shown to reduce juvenile mortality and increase population size (Alberts et al ., ; Knapp & Hudson, ; Wilson et al ., ; Pérez‐Buitrago et al ., ; Burton, ); and translocation of breeding age iguanas to unpopulated islands has been used to recolonize or expand the species distribution range (Knapp & Hudson, ; Goodyear & Lazell, ). The need for reliable monitoring of translocated iguana populations led to a review of methods for estimating density and abundance (Hayes & Carter, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring a population of translocatedGrandCayman blue iguanas: assessing the accuracy and precision of distance sampling and repeated counts

Burton¹,

Rivera-Milán²

2014

Animal Conservation

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In wildlife translocations, it is important to identify reliable monitoring methods that can provide accurate population estimates for post-release management. We compared density and abundance estimates of distance sampling and repeated counts with complete counts (census data) to determine accuracy (percentage relative bias) and precision (coefficient of variation) for monitoring populations of blue iguanas restored to protected areas on Grand Cayman. We conducted incomplete counts (survey data) of blue iguanas at 12 transects of unequal length (range = 322.1 to 431.7 m) visited 36 times per year, yielding 405 detections in March 2010 and 443 detections in March 2013. Distance sampling and repeated counts provided accurate (range of percentage relative bias = −9.52% to 0.00%) and precise (range of coefficient of variation = 0.10 to 0.15) estimates of iguana density and abundance, and yielded an estimate of the proportion of individuals that were available for detection in the study area during the surveys (ˆ. P a = 0 88, se = 0.03). The use of distance sampling and repeated count methods, in carefully designed surveys with representative coverage and adequate replication, can lead to more reliable monitoring of extant wild and translocated rock iguana populations on other Caribbean islands, where individual marking may not be practical, and the proportion of individuals that is available for detection is unknown.

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Survival and Reproduction of Repatriated Jamaican IguanasHeadstarting as a Viable Conservation Strategy

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Survival, dispersal and reproduction of headstarted Mona Island iguanas, Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri

Survival, dispersal and reproduction of headstarted Mona Island iguanas, Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri

Conserving The Puerto Rican Herpetofauna

Monitoring a population of translocatedGrandCayman blue iguanas: assessing the accuracy and precision of distance sampling and repeated counts

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