Saving the Trumpeter Swan and Hawaiian Goose: Recovery Programs

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Saving the Trumpeter Swan and Hawaiian Goose
Recovery Programs

• Stacy Lackey

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Trumpeter Swan Biology

• Has a white body, black bill, and a long neck
  that is held straight in flight
• Eat aquatic plants, insects, snails
• Usually mate for life
• Build a big and bulky nest of reeds, rushes,
  roots and grasses lined with down
• Female lays 5-6 eggs in May and incubates for 32
  days
• Cygnets stay in nest only until they can
  thermoregulate their temperature
• They have very little food reserve and must start
  feeding quickly
• Male and Female molt at different times so one
  will always be able to stay with the cygnets

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Similar Species

• Trumpeter swan has a size of 24-25 and is the
  largest swan in the world, weighing up to 35 lbs
• Similar to the Trumpeter are the Tundra and Mute
  swans
• The Tundra sometimes has a yellow spot on its
  bill, but is overall smaller at 19.5-22.5
• Mute has an orange bill and ranges in size from
  21- 24

Tundra Swan
Mute Swan
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History of Trumpeter Swans

• Trumpeter Swans were once fairly common
  throughout most of the northern United States and
  Canada
• Trumpeters nested in Minnesota and Wisconsin
  until the 1880s
• The Trumpeters' historic breeding range reached
  from western Nebraska to central Michigan. It
  extended as far north and east as James Bay in
  Canada
• Market hunting and the millinery trade rapidly
  depleted nesting populations during the 19th
  century
• In the 1930s, there were only 69 Trumpeter Swans
  remaining in the continental U.S.

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Early Findings

• By 1900, it was widely believed that the species
  had become extinct
• Fortunately, a small nonmigratory population
  survived in the remote mountain valleys of
  Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming
• Two nests were found in Yellowstone National Park
  in 1919 and in 1932, 69 Trumpeters were
  documented in the region
• We now know that a population of several thousand
  Trumpeters also survived in remote parts of
  Alaska and Canada
• Passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
  gave protection to trumpeter swans and other
  birds and helped curb illegal killing

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USFWS Recovery

• In 1935, the U.S. government established Red Rock
  Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana's
  Centennial Valley to protect the remnant
  Trumpeter population
• Managed by the USFWS, habitat conditions quickly
  improved when refuge personnel restricted
  livestock grazing and hay cutting in the marshes,
  protected the muskrat population, provided winter
  food, controlled predators, and more recently
  prohibited the use of lead shot and lead fishing
  sinkers because of the danger of lead poisoning
• With protection at Red Rock Lakes and in
  Yellowstone National Park, the Tri-state
  subpopulation, as it is now known, increased to
  640 birds by the late 1950s
• In an attempt to expand their range and chances
  of survival, Trumpeters have been transplanted to
  locations with suitable habitat

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USFWS Recovery, cont.

• Between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, the
  Tri-state subpopulation declined. Productivity
  plunged in the late 1970s, and by 1986 only 392
  birds remained
• Concern over the decline led to an extensive
  study that demonstrated a close relationship
  between swan survival and the availability of
  winter foods at Red Rock Lakes
• In 1987 and 1988, marked increases in
  supplemental winter grain coupled with favorable
  weather led to a dramatic increase in the number
  of cygnets produced at areas in and adjacent to
  Red Rock Lakes
• In 1989, there were 565 birds in the Tristate
  Subpopulation
• Many other recovery programs were initiated,
  especially those in the midwestern states of
  Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wisconsin has
  been the most successful of the three

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Wisconsin Recovery

• Prior to 1987, it had been 100 years since a
  Trumpeter had reproduced in Wisconsin
• Beginning in 1987, Wisconsin biologists flew to
  Alaska for nine consecutive years to collect
  Trumpeter eggs, then were hatched in incubators
  at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
• After they hatched, the young swans were either
  placed in a captive rearing program or decoy
  rearing program until they were released to the
  wild.
• The original goal was to establish 20 breeding
  pairs by 2000, and in 2004, there were 80 pairs
• They continue to captive and brood-rear cygnets
  and release them back into the wild, in hopes of
  re-establishing their old numbers.

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Threats to Restoration

• They are vulnerable to illegal shooting, since
  they look so similar to other species that can be
  hunted
• Collisions with power lines
• Predators Snapping turtles, great horned owls,
  racoons and minks which steal the eggs and kill
  the young
• Lead poisoning
• Widespread destruction and degredation of
  wetlands
• They must compete for food in these small areas
  with other migratory trumpeters and birds that
  live there all year. As a result, some birds may
  be in poor condition by spring. They lack energy
  for migration, egg laying and incubation
• Other problems include funding, human disturbance
  and recreational development in nesting areas

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Management

• For management purposes, Trumpeters are divided
  into populations based on their range
• About 1,000 Trumpeters occur in western Canada
  and include birds that migrate to the Tri-state
  area. Many of these-swans nest in the Yukon and
  the Northwest Territories. Together with summer
  resident Tri-state swans, these birds comprise
  the Rocky Mountain Population
• There are nearly 12,000 Trumpeter Swans in
  Alaska. These birds, combined with western
  Canadian flocks and restoration flocks from
  western refuges, comprise the Pacific Coast
  Population
• A third population, the Interior Population, is
  made up of flocks east of the Rocky Mountains and
  numbers about 500 birds.

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The Trumpeter Today

• Once considered for federal 'endangered' status,
  the Trumpeter is not officially listed as
  threatened or endangered
• In the Midwest, however, it is actually more rare
  than the threatened Bald Eagle
• It has no official state status in Midwestern
  states, except in Wisconsin, where it is listed
  as an endangered species, and in Michigan, where
  it is a threatened species
• Today, estimates show about 16,000 trumpeter
  swans reside in North America
• They are an overall success story, and their
  outlook is bright

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Why worry?

• It is one of the rarest waterfowl in North
  America, and the largest
• Environmental stability
• Aesthetics
• To many people, the Trumpeters are the
  embodiment of grace, beauty, and unspoiled
  wildness

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Hawaiian Goose Biology

• Also known as Nene or Lava Geese
• Are extremely friendly and approachable
• Front and sides of neck appear to have black and
  white stripes
• Unlike all other geese, the Nene has semi-palmate
  feet
• One of the smaller geese, range from 21 26
• Winter breeding season From November to March
• Nest 2-5 white eggs in a kipuka
• Nests are down-lined, concealed well under
  bushes, and usually in the same area

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Biology, cont.

• Feeds on both native and introduced plants and
  herbs and their seeds, buds, flowers and fruits
• Habitat includes scrublands, grasslands, golf
  courses, sparsely vegetated slopes, lowland areas
• Only waterfowl adapted for life on lava flows,
  and are mostly found in the rugged lava fields
• Only found in Hawaii
• Does not need fresh water, but will use it when
  available
• Variety of calls from soft and conversational to
  loud and honking to moo-ing when distressed

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The Struggle of the Nene

• An estimated 25,000 Hawaiian geese used to
  inhabit the Hawaiian islands in the time of
  Captain James Cook
• Europeans arrived in 1778 and their numbers began
  to immediately decline
• Their approachability became their downfall
• They were overharvested to feed those out in
  California exploring and to feed people on
  whaling expeditions
• The mongoose was introduced in 1883
• Geese made easy targets and the mongoose preyed
  on eggs, chicks, and adults

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Nene Struggle, cont.

• Hunting was allowed during the winter breeding
  seasons of the Hawaiian goose, when they are most
  vulnerable
• This continued until the 1940s
• Only 20-30 birds remained in 1949
• In 1950, a few were taken into captivity and by
  1957, many conservation efforts were underway

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Early Recovery Programs

• Conservationists began breeding birds in
  captivity
• Early programs for returning geese to wild proved
  very difficult, and the Nene was listed as an
  endangered species in 1967 under the Federal
  Endangered Species Act
• There were constant releases in the beginning,
  but when releases were reduced in the 1970s, the
  population declined sharply from 875 geese in
  1977 to 400 in 1980
• This suggested that releasing captive-bred geese
  had kept the population artificially high
• Other factors of the declines included low
  productivity due to poor available nutrition
• Hawaiian Geese are also extremely vulnerable to
  predation by introduced species such as the
  mongoose, rats, dogs, cats, and pigs
• Much more work was needed to identify and remedy
  the causes for the Nene's decline.

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Recent Recovery Programs

• Between 1980 and 1989, various research and
  conservation initiatives were carried out in
  Hawaii.
• The initiatives eventually culminated in the Nene
  Recovery Initiative, a five year research program
  implemented by the Nene Recovery Action Group,
  with members from the Hawaiian Department of
  Forestry and Wildlife, Hawaiian National Park
  Service, US Fish Wildlife Service, University
  of North Dakota, Smithsonian Institute and
  Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.
• The Nene Recovery Initiative had the goal of
  re-introducing the Nene and for it to become
  self-sustaining in the wild and had five
  objectives

                                              
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Nene Recovery Initiative Objectives

• To continue investigating the causes of the
  Hawaiian Geese low productivity and survival
  rates
• To investigate the success and cost of various
  management practices in current habitats which
  increase the productivity and survival rates of
  the Hawaiian Goose and to identify additional
  habitats that provide more of the Nene's
  requirements
• To assess release techniques by collecting data
  from intensive monitoring of released individuals
  and to further research birds in captivity
• To produce an agreed Management Monitoring Plan
  for the Hawaiian Goose within the first 5-year
  phase and to stipulate the means by which the
  plan could continue to be evaluated and enhanced
  until it becomes self-sustaining without further
  releases.
• 5. To make the findings available and
  communicate them to all of the public

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The results?

• These objectives were implemented through three
  work programs involving 13 studies in total
• Management Research (5 projects)
• Aviculture and Release Research (5 projects)
• Long-term Monitoring (3 studies)
• This work demonstrated that five from the eight
  sub-populations on Hawaii were not
  self-sustaining due to a variety of causes,
  including
• Low gosling survival
• Poor foraging conditions
• Predation by introduced predators (rats, cats,
  dogs, pigs, mongoose)
• Road fatalities - about 10 Nenes are run over
  by cars in Hawaii every year

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The Hawaiian Goose Recovery Plan

• Every Endangered species has to have a recovery
  plan
• Published in 1983
• It outlines the essential elements to accomplish
  a goal of establishing 2,000 geese on Hawaii and
  250 on Maui
• These elements are to
• Minimize the mortality rate in the wild
• Continue release of captive- bred birds
• To protect and improve habitat where the Nene
  can maintain their populations naturally

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The Nene today

• Under some of the first captive breeding efforts
  for an endangered species, the bird's extinction
  has been prevented.
• Using new information and techniques, this work
  has succeeded in establishing new populations
• Now, some 1,100 Nene inhabit Hawaii, Maui,
  Molokai and Kauai.
• Currently, Hawaiian Geese are being raised in
  captivity at the Maui Bird Conservation Center at
  Olinda and the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center
  on the Big Island. Young birds are then released
  into protected habitats by the State
• The Wildfowl Trust in England also plays a major
  role, distributing Nenes to zoos, aviaries, and
  the wild

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What should be done and why?

• Substantial captive populations ensure the future
  survival of the Nene, but further effort is
  needed to conserve wild populations
• Most importantly, birds need to be able to
  survive in Hawaii without the continued release
  of captive-bred birds
• Future conservation priorities for the Nene are
  currently being drafted in the USFWS revised Nene
  Recovery Plan
• Further financial and community support

• The Nene is the state bird of Hawaii, and its
  residents are very fond of the goose
• Aesthetic values
• Its unique characteristics
• Environmental stability
• It is the 8th most endangered waterfowl species
  in the world

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Sources

• http//www.caprep.com/0904067.htm
• http//www.fws.gov/pacific/pacificislands/wesa/nen
  e.html
• http//www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/nene/
• http//www.wwt.org.uk/threatsp/pastwwt/nene.htm
• http//www.humboldt.edu/jmb7002/stud/05.html
• http//www.edf.org/documents/3738_species_Nene.pdf
  search'hawaiian20goose20recovery
• http//fwie.fw.vt.edu/WWW/esis/lists/e101029.htm
• http//raysweb.net/specialplaces/pages/swan.html
• http//www.dnr.state.wi.us/ORG/LAND/er/factsheets/
  birds/SWAN.HTM
• http//www.trumpeterswansociety.org/
• http//www.fws.gov/species/species_accounts/bio_sw
  an.html
• http//www.reallygoodnews.net/trumpeterswansreboun
  dinwisconsin.htm
• http//www.dnr.wisconsin.gov/org/land/er/swan.htm
• http//www.umich.edu/esupdate/library/96.09/smith
  .html
• http//www.wesave.org/swan/program2.htm

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QUESTIONS?