The Golden Conure What the Studbook Tells Us

Abstract

The Golden Conure Guaruba guaruba (formerly Aratinga guarou-

ba), with its vibrant color and appealing personality, is a highly sought after species in captivity. A concern for the dwindling number of these beautiful parrots prompted regulations in international trade by their inclusion in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). In our country the Endangered Species Act further regulates trade between states through the requirement of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife permit.

Based on field work conducted between 1981 to 1984, Oren and Novaes 0986) estimated that the species is not in imminent danger of extinction primarily due to the remote region of Northwestern Brazil in which it resides. On the other hand, an article in the US News & World Report listed the Golden Conure as "one of the South American animals that experts predict will be faced with extinction due to the loss of tropical forests." Recent estimates suggest that the entire population in the wild numbers approximately 5000 birds (Low, 1995).

A studbook that records their numbers in captivity was first published in September 1990 with subsequent editions appearing in June 1992 and November 1993. Alan Lieberman, former Curator of Birds at the San Diego Zoo, was responsible for the publication of all three editions. In the last printing, he indicated that he would not continue as studbook keeper which is unfortunate since each addition of the studbook provided increasingly valuable information.

The 1993 studbook lists 632 living birds of which 241 are males, 239 are females and 152 birds are of unknown sex. Compared to the listings in the previous edition, this is an increase of 217 birds. Other statistics in the current studbook estimate that the total numbers in captivity will increase to 5,000 in the next 20 years. Current indica-

 

tions point to a life expectancy of 30 years or more with most of the breeding pairs likely to produce offspring between the ages of 3 to 22 years for males and 3 to 26 years for females.

Although this data suggests an optimistic future for the Golden Conure, there were other questions that I wanted to pursue in order to give a more expanded view of the holdings up to November 1993. I was interested in where the most prolific birds resided and whether or not a few successful pairs dominated the gene pool. Rather than tabulating the information by hand, I decided to enter the data into FoxPro, a database management system. Although a time-consuming project, after the data was entered the information was easily managed making it possible to glean other demographic information.

Of particular interest was the fact that 212 of the total Jiving birds (up to November 1993) were located in foreign countries with the largest number (112) residing in Brazil. A quick subtraction indicates over 400 are located in the U.S. Also noted was that 11 pairs -8 in the U.S.-produced nearly half (302) of the total number of living captive Golden Conures. Each of these pairs had 19 or more offspring, while three of the most prolific produced more than 40 progeny per pair. As indicated by Rosemary Low 0995) and confirmed from manipulating the studbook information, the Golden Conure is more likely to breed in a flock environment. The most prolific pairs are housed in separate cages but in proximity to other Golden Conure pairs. Of the 11 pairs that have been most prolific through November 1993, eight are still living-3 located in Florida, 3 in California, 1 in Texas and 1 in Iowa.

Clearly, there are a handful of successful breeders located in a few states. However, the median age of the birds is only nine years old and therefore relatively young. The large number of young birds argues in favor of an acceleration in their numbers in the

 

years to come which is predicted in the last edition of the studbook Nevertheless, care must he taken to prevent inbreeding and to maximize diversity within the gene pool since the founding pool of birds in captivity was not large.

To do this, it is important that private aviculturists, who hold over 80% of the Golden Conures in the U.S., register their birds in the studbook. It is also important that in .states where there are a relatively high number of birds, breeders should acquire a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife even though intrastate trade is legal without a permit. Once a permit is obtained, the birds can he traded to breeders in other states in order to diversify the gene pool.

It is equally important that the trade of Golden Conures between breeders of different countries be encouraged and promoted by the respective government agencies. If trade is restricted, the gene pool also becomes restricted, which is not in the best interests of the birds.

 

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References

Allman. W.F., and Schrof, J.M. 1989. "Engdangered Species. Can They Be Saved?" U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 2, Pp. 52-58.

Lieberman, A. A. International Studbook. Golden Conure Aratinga guarouba. 3rd edition, November 1, 19')3

Low, H 1995. "Breeding the Queen of Conures," Birdbreeder, December, Pp. 30-35.

Microsoft FoxPro 2.1 (x). Relational Database

Management System for MS-DOS, Microsoft

Corporation, Redmond, WA.

Oren, D.C., and Novaes, F.C. 1986. "Observations on the Golden Parakeet Aratinga guarouba in Northern Brazil." Biological Conservation 36 329-337