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SOUTHERN CASSOWARY HUSBANDRY WORKSHOP SUMMARY: OVERVIEW, OUTCOMES & ACTIONSAdministrator: James Biggs, Cairns Tropical ZooFacilitator: Carolyn Hogg, Zoo & Aquarium AssociationDate: 3rd & 4th AUGUST 2011Location: DREAMWORLD, GOLD COASTReport prepared by James Biggs17-08-2011James Biggs, Bird Department Supervisor at Cairns Tropical Zoo; Recent role of Captive Population Manager/Species Co-ordinator for the Southern Cassowary in the Australasia Region. It is my job to ensure the genetic and demographic health of the captive population. I’ll focus this discussion on where we are currently; the management of the species; and what we are doing to improve the situation in captivity.The primary rationale for the current program, established in 2001, is one of public education, conservation awareness and development of husbandry techniques. Have we been successful in educating and raising awareness about conservation? Somewhat. Have we been successful in developing husbandry techniques? To maintain birds, yes. Have we been successful in consistently breeding birds? Apart from Cairns Tropical Zoo and a handful of other places, no. You might ask why they aren’t breeding? Can’t you just put them in an enclosure together? - Let me assure you it is far more complex than that. Basically the program had come to a grinding halt which is why I decided that 1) the existing captive management manual needed turfing; 2) captive management of the species needed to be turned on its head; 3) and a workshop should be held to update current best practices, and to see if we could identify what is causing the quiescence of the program – and of course to try to actively fix some of the problems instead of just crossing our fingers and hoping that the issues affecting our birds would just disappear. The workshop outcomes were designed and guided by several main topics which will be incorporated into the existing chapters of the revised manual (Biggs, unpublished) prior to completion around June 2012. Participants explored general husbandry, housing, handling, health, reproduction, behaviour, nutrition, artificial incubation and rearing, and the use of Cassowaries as a conservation tool. Invitations were offered to full members, associate members and non-members of the Zoo and Aquarium Association, including a number of representatives from the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Population Managers for the North American and European Studbooks, and Veterinarians who have specialised in Cassowary care. The workshop ran over two days and was held at Dreamworld, Gold Coast, from 3rd-4th August 2011. See attached agenda for timetable.A number of presentations were given – “GENETIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SOUTHERN CASSOWARY POPULATION”“MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY OF THE SOUTHERN CASSOWARY”“CRUDE ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN CASSOWARY STUDBOOK: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT”PRESENTATIONS“GENETIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SOUTHERN CASSOWARY POPULATION”by James Biggs, Southern Cassowary Species Coordinator; and Clancy Hall, Studbook Keeper; impromptu by Nicole LaGreco AZA Population Manager, San Diego ZooExecutive Summary: Non-recommended transfers occurred; 2 new founders; 90% of recommendations attempted; 10% achieved; F = 0.000Priorities for Program: Reconfirm commitment to program by participating institutions and other institutions wishing to participate; run husbandry workshop; identify institutions willing to hold 2.1.0 to allow mate choice trials; finalize and circulate revised Cassowary Husbandry Manual; provide institutions with studbook extracts; review and collate captive breeding techniques.General Recommendations: No further recruitment of birds from outside of the current ASMP population unless the opportunity to acquire known wild origin founders presents itself; Limit reproduction of prioritised pairing to one clutch per pairing within the time frame to promote genetic diversity without compromising available regional spaces; ALL animal movements to be coordinated through the Species Coordinator; Discourage reproductive events from specimens other than prioritized pairings in the PMP; Institutions to provide regular updates to ensure studbook to remains current; Institutions that have specimens placed on historical loan to non-member institutions to review loan agreements and ensure that there is the potential for a percentage of offspring to be recruited back into the program as required.Outlined some new realistic goals:Husbandry Goals: Achieve reliable, consistent breeding in line with recommendations; Change our management practices such that they align with identified natural history of the species.Demographic Goals: Potential to achieve target population by breeding. 35:25.0 ten birds in ten years is achievable at current rate.Genetic Goals: Retain at least 90% gene diversity over 50 years – not currently achievable but is assisted by acquisition of new birds that are unable to be successfully rehabilitated; Maintain inbreeding coefficients at or below F = 0.125 Recruitment and Placement of Founders; Facilities Available: QSMP discussion; ZAA & ZAAQ discussion.Developments – Research News & AZA: CSIRO, JCU, EthoTrak, Ultrasonography. Nicole LaGreco.Concerns: Quiescent program; Inbreeding; Non-recommended transfers. “MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY OF THE SOUTHERN CASSOWARY”by Adam Northam, Department of Environment and Resource ManagementConservation Status & DistributionCassowary Recovery, Cyclone Yasi - DERM’s initial response: Assessment of the QPWS Cassowary Rehabilitation Facility- Garners Beach (infrastructure and birds); Establishment of a Cassowary Incident Management Team; A collaborative aerial habitat assessment including transects flown between Innisfail to Cardwell Range- CSIRO, WTMA; Aerial food drops to encourage cassowaries not to venture into urban areas/ near busy roads- Approx 1000kg; Preparation for a supplementary feeding program- liaison with food suppliers, purchase of equipment etc.Cyclone Yasi – Supplementary Feeding Program: 94 Active Feed stations. Total fruit delivered 74 359kg. 2554 volunteer hours. 84 scats collected. 55 feeding exemptions issued. Budget forecast 2.7million (18 month program). Captive Management: DERM’s priority for supporting cassowary recovery is to direct available resources towards in-situ conservation projects eg. Responding to natural disasters, threat abatement, habitat protection and management, undertaking ‘in house’ research projects and/or collaboration with external stakeholders; To supplement wild populations, DERM undertakes the rehabilitation and release of wild sick, injured and orphaned animals at the Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre (Garners Beach).DERM’s Support for ZAA Managed Programs: DERM actively supports the Queensland Species Management Plan (QSMP) and considers this to be the primary tool for determining priority placement for non-releasable cassowaries; Post Cyclone Larry DERM placed 3 cassowaries with ZAAQ members via the QSMP process; 1 cassowary placement between cyclones; To date 1 cassowary has been placed with a ZAAQ member post Cyclone Yasi.“CRUDE ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN CASSOWARY STUDBOOK: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT”by Carolyn Hogg, Zoo and Aquarium Association; Chris Hibbard, Zoo and Aquarium Association; and Clancy Hall, Currumbin Wildlife SanctuaryStudbook Analysis: Conducted crude analysis of the historical studbook and of birds that have produced 5 or more successful clutches to get a better idea of which birds are actually breeding.Determinations that have implications for captive management: Seasonality; viability of hatched eggs; average size of successful clutch; age at peak reproduction; how long after introduction are birds successfully producing; These will affect how quickly we can turn around the current situation.Results: Cassowaries will breed (hatch eggs) from September-January in captivity – this will impact when introductions should be attempted; viability of chicks hatching and surviving past one year = 1 chick per clutch – this will impact genetic and demographic analyses in PM2000; average size of successful clutch is recorded as 1 in the studbook, however this may be due to the fact that only hatched eggs are recorded, as opposed to total number of eggs in a clutch; female peak reproduction 9-16 years old, male peak reproduction 8-15 years old – James will incorporate age data when recommending pairings and include MK values and F statistics; successful pairs are breeding 2 years after being in the same facilityRequirements of Program: Prioritize breeding of birds between 8-16 years; Start more mate-choice programs; Consider increasing our established F statistic parameter from 0.125 to 0.25 to increase number of breeding events; Start ‘stirring the pot’ – Reproductive assessment of birds that are paired but not producing fertile eggs and move birds if breeding is unsuccessful after a few years; Protocol to determine fertility of eggs; Egg post-mortem protocol; Determine whether infrasound plays an important role in the lead up to breeding season; Consider surrogacy of eggs if parents are unsuitable; DISCUSSIONS & OUTCOMESANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGYOutcomes:DERM has post mortem protocol for use by zoo industry;Need to determine whether infrasound plays an important role in communication;DERM has ‘back-score rating’ - physiological assessment of condition visually, for use by zoo industry – James to further develop;Agreed to regularly weigh to develop optimum weight range database;Concurred that hormones are affecting appetite throughout breeding season;Concurred that Cassowaries are not strict frugivores.BEHAVIOUROutcomes: Interested institutions to implement EthoTrak;Developed pre-breeding behaviour list to provide carers with cues for successful introductions;Developed enrichment list;Developed behavioural and environmental checklist for introductions and breeding events;Developed records template for reproductive behaviour, physiological and environmental dataDeveloped a more specific sexual, social and agonistic ethogram for captive birds.HOUSINGOutcomes: Developed safe enclosure template to facilitate mate-choice trials, adult separation, chick safety and keeper safety – all dynamics discussed and agreed upon.HEALTH EVALUATION & DISEASEOutcomes: Obtained growth development data from AZA;Established the need to develop clinical database of illnesses, injuries, treatments etc.;Inclusion of ultrasonography in medical assessment pre inclusion in program;Developed checklist for behavioural signs of disease.NUTRITION & FEEDINGOutcomes: Revised adult diet to match components from CTZ, ARP, Fleays, Australia Zoo, Currumbin – what to feed, what not to feed;Identified capacity of Cassowaries to consume toxic foods;Revised juvenile diet.REPRODUCTIONOutcomes: Reviewed current industry pairings standard to reflect species natural history;Revised egg management, when eggs should be considered infertile, and developed protocol to remove eggs;Established parameters for data to collect from eggs;Developed method to check fertility of eggs;Developed egg post mortem protocol;Developed protocol for pair formation;Seasonality and when to introduce birds;See Behaviour section.ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION & REARINGOutcomes: Institutions to consider surrogacy between species and institutions;Identified sources to contribute to this area – CTZ, ARP, Denver Zoo, Ratite farms.CAPTURE, HANDLING & TRANSPORTOutcomes: Uniform transport box to be developed to facilitate easy inter-institutional movements;Developed protocols for conditioning birds for transport;Developed protocols for chemical and manual restraint of adult birds for medical assessment and transport;Training seminars and practical experience opportunities to be developed and arranged by DERM for Cassowary carers.CAMPAIGN & INTERPRETIVE DISPLAYS DEVELOPMENTOutcomes: Developed standard data to present in interpretive displays and campaign material;Part of campaign funds to be donated to DERM for monitoring work.IN SUMMARY:The captive program now aims to ensure the persistence of a captive population in ZAA institutions that: 1) Can support the development and documentation of husbandry techniques for the species; and 2) Supports the illustration of biodiversity – which leads me to my next point…The Zoo Industry lacks a significant Cassowary conservation/education campaign that is co-ordinated between zoos. We also lack of solid conservation partnerships with other Cassowary stakeholders. Australian Zoos see around 15 million visitors each year. A perfect opportunity to get some loud, clear messages to the public about our endangered wildlife. For example “Dont Palm Us off”, “They’re Calling on You”, “Wipe for Wildlife”. Millions of dollars are raised by zoos each year to assist with conservation initiatives. What I hope to do in the coming year is develop a number of “Conservation Partnerships” and in turn, facilitate the development of a wholesome zoo-based campaign that could include some scope to drill campaigns from other stakeholders, such as your recent “Cassowary Extinction Emergency”, amongst others. I envision that funds raised by the zoos for Cassowaries will go to organizations such as RR, and to DERM to continue their crucial monitoring work.Discuss and develop with Cassowary Recovery Team (CRT) a uniform zoo-based Cassowary conservation/education campaign that is aligned and coordinated with the CRT efforts. Will include a fundraising element to supply funds to eg - DERM to continue tracking/monitoring research or to contribute to organizations such as RR. David Wescott re: review manual?WORKSHOP ACTIONSTasks / ActionsAssigned toDeadlineSend Specimen Records or ARKS and MedARKS records of all Cassowaries historically held at your institution to James: wildlife@ to build clinical database of treated illnesses/injuries for inclusion in HMALL30.11.2011James to fill in addressed sections of cassowary questionnaire and circulate for completion by workshop participants. Definitions and selected images to be included in HMJames Biggs / ALL30.11.2011Collect any gross pathology, histopathology, haematology and blood biochemistry data if not included in ARKS/MedARKS files and send to JamesALL30.11.2011Hatch data/Egg data form – Template from ArkSAG Suzy Barlow Carolyn Hogg01.03.2012Reproductive data collection – including AZA and EAZA – Chris to compile and circulate reproductive data sheet template Chris Hibbard / ALL31.03.2012Workshop participants to film any reproductive events (courtship, mating) and send to James. Please list your name and institution so that you can be credited on the dvdALL01.03.2012Prepare and circulate institutional costing for EthoTrak. James Biggs01.10.2011Institutions to notify James of interest in EthoTrak ALL31.12.2011Compile and circulate workshop documentationJames Biggs / Clancy Hall01.10.2011Open discussion with DERM re: possibility of zoo staff assisting with, or obtaining training videos with planned wild cassowary capture, restraint and transport proceduresDan Mead / James Biggs30.11.2011Develop visual back-score rating James Biggs / Dan Mead / Graham L01.03.2011Acquire DERM crate dimensions/design (sedated birds)James Biggs / Dan Mead / Kylie Goodall30.11.2011Open communication with Margaret Thorsborne about wild Cassowary dataJames Biggs / Kylie Goodall30.11.2011Conduct trial egg candling on emu eggsClancy HallAs producedAcquire cassowary post mortem scheduleGraham Lauridsen01.03.2011Acquire egg post mortem scheduleMichele Barnes01.09.2011Collect developmental weights for cassowary and send to JamesNicole LaGreco30.11.2011Acquire contact details for cassowary fruit farmerJacqui Brumm31.10.2011Acquire draft quarantine protocol from VetSAGVere Nicolson01.09.2011Discuss and develop with Cassowary Recovery Team (CRT) a uniform Cassowary conservation campaign that is aligned and coordinated with the CRT efforts. Zoos to implement. Will likely include a fundraising element to supply funds to DERM to continue tracking/monitoring research. Tie in with training of zoo staff.James Biggs / TBADiscuss Cassowary exports/imports with AZAChris Hibbard__.09.2011Create Cassowary Husbandry listserve with agreed participants as contactsCarolyn Hogg31.08.2011Finalize and circulate husbandry manual and DVDJames Biggs30.06.2012ATTACHMENT AFINAL AGENDATimeIssuePresenter11:00Bus departs Marina Quays International bound for Dreamworld12:30Welcome & IntroductionAl Mucci & James Biggs12:45Priorities for Cassowary - introduction of delegate and what they see as the main issues for CassowaryALL13:15Overview of current populationbrief presentation on demographics and genetics of current populationrecruitment of foundersfacilities availablewild populationsofficial position from DERM on captive mgmt and position on wild birds (tentative)James Biggs & Clancy Hall14:15Discussion around issuesbreeding nutrition health evaluation & diseasecapture, restraint, transportenclosure designother issues that ariseALL – lead by facilitator15:00 Afternoon tea15:15Continue discussion around issues17:00Day ends17:30Bus departs Dreamworld bound for Marina Quays InternationalDay Two – 4th August 2011TimeIssuePresenter08:00Bus departs Marina Quays International bound for Dreamworld9:00Welcome & agenda for Day 2 based on discussions from Day 19:15Developing future strategies10:30Morning Tea10:45Agreed position on significant issues12:30Lunch13:30Husbandry Manual DevelopmentJames Biggs14:45Afternoon Tea15:00Actions15:45Summary16:00Meeting closes17:00Bus departs Dreamworld bound for Gold Coast Domestic Airport.PARTICULARSWhether self-drive, or catching the chartered bus from Marina Quays, please check-in with Security upon arrival at Dreamworld – look for a blue demountable building near the entrance to the park. Rhonda or Matt will guide you to the workshop venue for tea and coffee.Afternoon tea will be provided on Day 1. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided on Day 2. ................
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