92 



and feral populadons of exotic birds. 



e) facilities where established protocols include rigorous disease prevention methodolo- 

 gies, such as scrub-downs of personnel entering the facilities, and regular health 

 examinations of captive stock. 



Further, captive-breeding stocks for recovery of endangered parrots should generally be 

 assembled directly from the wild populations or from stocks held in closed single-species 

 facilities with good records of disease prevention, and should not be formed from stocks that 

 have been held in open multispecies facilities. 



Finally, APC emphasizes the importance of state-of-the-art disease screening for all birds 

 used in captive-breeding for recovery purposes, even though such screening cannot be expected 

 to reveal the presence of all diseases of importance. 



Observing these standards is often expensive but should be recognized as one of the 

 inherent costs of comprehensive captive breeding conducted for recovery purposes. The 

 consequences of not observing such precautions include enhanced risks of permanent 

 establishment of new disease stress factors in already threatened wild populations and, in some 

 cases, extinction or near-extinction of wild populations (see Jacobson 1993; Woodford and 

 Rossiter 1994). 



(5) Managing genetic and behavioral changes. When captive populations are established 

 for conservation and recovery purposes, the preservation of extant genetic variation and species- 

 typical behavior assume paramount importaoce. Over the past decade, considerable attention has 

 been given to the preservation of genetic diversity in small populations; much less attention has 

 been given to the preservation of species-typical behavioral traits. Modem, conservation-oriented 

 breeding programs must attempt to ameliorate the genetic effects of inbreeding, drift, and 

 adaptation to the captive environment through the deliberate and careful control of reproduction, 

 population size, population demography (Foose and Ballou 1988, Lacy 1987, Allendorf 1993). 

 This is a difficult task, however, given (1) the practical limitations of population size and 

 controlling reproduction; (2) the dynamic nature of evolutionary forces in small populations; (3) 

 the types of genetic variation to be maintained; and (4) the uncertain nature of selection in the 

 captive environment (see Lande 1988, Simberloff 1988). In low-fecundity taxa, like parrots, 

 careful pedigree breeding and equalizing progeny number can minimize genetic drift and 

 adaptation to captivity (AUendorf 1993). It should be noted, however, the some breeding 

 programs for endangered parrots have failed to secure consistent reproduction or equalize progeny 

 numbers even after years of effort 



Behavioral traits, especially those that are learned or culturally transmitted, are prone to 

 rapid loss in captivity. The behavioral repertoires of many parrot species seem to include learned 

 components, and problems with behavioral deficiencies have already been encountered in 

 attempts to reintroduce captive-bred individuals of several species to the wild (see Wiley et al., 

 1992, Snyder et al., 1994). Because the non-genetic transmission of information across 

 generations appears to be essential for the survival of wild populations of some highly social 

 species such as parrots (Toft 1994), breeding programs for reintroduction must focus careful 

 attention on behavioral management in the captive environment Qearly, this aspect of captive 

 management deserves much more scientific investigation than it has received, and will have to 

 be completed on a species-by-species basis. 



(6) Problems in ensuring continuity of programs . Captive breeding represents a 

 relatively unstable and input-intensive approach to conservation that is difficult to sustain over 

 the lengths of time needed few recovery of endangered species. Changes in personnel and 

 institutional priorities can frequently leave long-term programs without adequate support and 



