Genetic Assignment and Monitoring of Yellow Cardinals

MARISOL DOMÍNGUEZ; GIMENA PIZZARELLO; MELINA ATENCIO; ROMINA SCARDAMAGLIA; BETTINA MAHLER

JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

WILDLIFE SOC

Lugar: Columbia; Año: 2019

0022-541X

The yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a passerine bird endemic to southern SouthAmerica. At present, the species is threatened with extinction, in part because of the capture of wild birds tosupply the illegal caged‐bird market. Previous genetic evidence supports the existence of 3 managementunits for the species in Argentina, where the largest populations are currently found. Our objectives were toguide the reintroduction of these animals to their respective management units by determining the origin ofseized specimens from illegal trade using 2 molecular markers, mtDNA and microsatellites, and to monitorthe success of the released birds through radio‐telemetry. We compared the performance of differentmolecular markers and assignment approaches to optimize a technique capable of assigning the origin ofconfiscated yellow cardinals in a reliable way. Five of 10 released radio‐tracked individuals were predatedshortly after liberation; however, 3 were successful in finding a mate and starting reproductive activities.Individual success was independent of the time spent in captivity, the liberation with a partner, thesettlement type (semi‐open or closed), and the maximum distance traveled from the point of release.Cardinals that survived had higher individual heterozygosity. Our findings contribute a robust geneticassignment technique to be used in future yellow cardinal seizures and identify factors that might improvesubsequent releases.