Hepatic fatty acid, mineral, and fat-soluble vitamin concentrations in captive-reared compared with free-living greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido)

Citation

Dierenfeld ES, Sherrod SK, Larson LC, and Toepfer JE. 2019. Hepatic fatty acid, mineral, and fat-soluble vitamin concentrations in captive-reared compared with free-living greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido). In Brooks M, Freel T, Koutsos E Eds. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation and AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Saint Louis, MO.

Abstract

The greater prairie-chicken (GPC, Tympanuchus cupido) inhabits tall and mixed grass prairies of the Central Great Plains, whereas the slightly smaller and highly endangered Attwater’s prairie-chicken (APC, T. c. attwateri) is only found in 2, small, reintroduced populations in coastal Texas (apart from targeted captive-breeding efforts in TX and OK). Despite differences in physical and habitat characteristics, general feeding ecologies of the two subspecies appear similar, comprising plant materials (green shoots, buds and leaves), prairie flowers, mixed seeds, forbs, and insects (Korschgen, 1962; Mohler, 1952). The most detailed descriptions of dietary habits (APC in Texas, Cogar 1980; GPC in North Dakota; Rumble et al., 1987), conducted through fecal analyses, found high diversity and seasonality in diets. APC consumed foliage from 56 spp. of native forbs and grasses, seeds from 19 spp., and insects from 12 families; nonetheless, diets comprised mainly herbage through all seasons, with percentage seed and insect consumption increasing in summer, and peaking in autumn, but comprising relatively minor components of overall diets throughout the year. GPC consumed 34 different items over winter (mainly corn, sunflower and soybean seeds but also some green materials – mainly of agricultural origin), and up to 59 items spring through summer (primarily dandelion flowers, alfalfa/sweet clover, and increasing percentages of arthropods – the major food items of juveniles – later in the season). Although detailed studies of dietary nutritional content have not been published, GPC are used as model species for APC captive rearing programs. Due to unacceptably high captive-bred chick mortalities in recent years, diet and tissue nutrient concentrations are a current focus of detailed investigation (i.e. Morrow et al., 2019).

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