Saving an iconic Saudi Arabian species

Monday, February 26, 2007

Saving an iconic Saudi Arabian species

Associate Professor John Cockrem’s recipe for romance includes live green crickets, fresh greens and longer daylight hours. The Massey avian expert recently returned from Saudi Arabia where he is leading the first stages of a project to extend the breeding season of the endangered Houbara bustard.

Dr Cockrem says the birds face an increasing loss of habitat due to over-grazing of dry desert areas. Falconry is a popular sport and the ground-nesting bustards are prey to the falcons.

Dr Cockrem, who has spent several summers in Antarctica studying the behaviour of Emperor penguins, is working with staff at the National Wildlife Research Centre near Taif, four hours’ drive from the port city of Jeddah. The centre contacted him after learning of his specialist knowledge in seasonal breeding and avian endrocrinology (hormonal systems).

The centre was established 20 years ago to breed bustards for release and its staff are keen to extend the breeding productivity of their captive population. In order to do so, more needs to be known about their behaviour and the factors which stimulate breeding.

Dr Cockrem will conduct a non-invasive study of faecal samples to measure corticosterone, the hormone produced in stressful situations, and the female reproductive hormone estradiol. He will take samples from females who breed well, from those who breed poorly, and from those who don’t breed at all to see if there are elevated corticosterone levels in the birds that do not breed in captivity.

The captive facilities are spartan with natural sandy floors and an open sky, and the first part of his study will be to alter their conditions to try to stimulate breeding. Dr Cockrem will introduce combinations of simulated rainfall, live green feed, and live crickets (both of which follow rainfall in the desert). He will also introduce simulated longer daylight hours, as previous studies of other birds suggest that the bustards may respond to increased daylight.

He will also develop a hormonal measurement method to determine when females are close to laying an egg. Because the birds are artificially inseminated, efficiency could be improved if this were conducted at the most suitable time. Dr Cockrem spent 10 days in Saudi Arabia, including a night in the Mahazat as- Sayd protected area where bustards have been released into the wild.

ENDS

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