Individual differences in behavioral and physiological responses to stress should be considered in conservation programs for the Greater rhea

LECHE, A.; DELLA COSTA, N.; GUZMAN, D; MARIN, R. H.; MARTELLA M.B.; NAVARRO J.L.

Congreso; CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE MANEJO DE FAUNA SILVESTRE DE LA AMAZONIA Y LATINOAMÉRICA; 2021

Individual behavioral and physiological responses depend on each bird's personality. Animalpersonalities influence population-level processes and result in relevant ecological interactionsthat can be important for wildlife management and conservation. Thus, some behavioral andphysiological traits are better suited to captivity, reintroduction, and translocation. The Greaterrhea (Rhea americana) is a flightless bird endemic to South America whose wild populationshave drastically declined in many areas of their distribution. Captive breeding is an importantconservation tool for this ratite, providing a source of individuals for repopulation. Previousstudies involving conservation and management aspects have not considered the possibleexistence of individual differences in this species. Here we investigate individual variation inGreater rheas' stress responses after a short transport by monitoring their behavior andmeasuring their fecal glucocorticoids metabolites.