Attwater's Prairie-chicken
Kellie Williams
BIO 227
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| A male Attwater's prairie-chicken in the wild. Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_2/NWRS/Zone_1/Attwater_Prairie_Chicken/Images/APC_Credit-Nappadal_Paothong(3).jpg?w=281&h=219&mode=crop |
Description and Ecology of Organism
Attwater’s prairie-chicken, sometimes referred to as APC for short, is a subspecies of prairie-chicken that is endemic to prairies along the Gulf of Mexico. This bird has dark brown feathers with white stripes, and the males possess tall erect feathers on their heads that resemble ears. The male’s most distinct feature is perhaps the yellow air sac on both sides of its neck, which inflates with air while the prairie chicken is trying to attract mates. The APC requires a lot of open space and grass, and feeds on at least 50 different species of plants, including perennial ragweed, doveweed, Blackberry, and sensitive briar. They are also known to feed on at least 65 different species of insects as well, although their diet is primarily plant-based. On average, they live two to five years.
Geographic and Population Changes
The APC requires large open grasslands to survive. However, beginning in the 20th century, this species experienced major habitat loss to industrial and urban expansion, overgrazing, invasive species, and, most importantly; conversion of these grasslands for agricultural use. By 1937, the APC had lost 93% of the grassland habitat it required to survive and reproduce in. Now, this species has lost over 99% of this land. The APC used to occupy a much larger area of southeastern Texas, but now, there are very few small patches of land where this species can still be found in the wild.
Listing Date and Type of Listing
In March of 1976, Attwater’s prairie-chicken was listed as endangered underneath the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The APC’s level of endangerment at the time was listed as a 6 on a scale of 1(greatest priority) to 18 (lowest priority.). This means that the APC is highly threatened, and unfortunately, appears to have a low potential for recovery. Attwater’s prairie-chicken has historically been known to have a population of at least one million, but as of Spring 2009, only 90 individuals of this species total remained in the wild; making the APC functionally extinct. More recent data, collected after the bird’s recovery plan was written, reveals that Hurricane Harvey in 2017 destroyed all or almost all of this species’ eggs that year and left only around an estimated ten birds left. Only five individuals are confirmed to still exist in the wild.
Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Continued Existence
The primary threat to Attwater’s prairie-chicken is loss of habitat, which has been primarily caused by humans. These animals require very specific habitats, as they must live in large open grasslands by the coast in order to survive. However, around 99% of this species’ native range has been converted and therefore lost. Although habitat loss is the number one cause of the APC’s endangerment, there are other natural threats to this species as well, including unfavorable weather events such as hurricanes, storms, hail, and droughts. Red imported fire ants are another big threat to Attwater’s prairie-chicken, because they kill off populations of insects that APC chicks rely on for food. Without this food source, the chicks starve, further lowering APC populations. There are also natural predators that target this species of prairie-chicken, including red- and white-tailed hawks, great horned owls, raccoons, and coyotes, among other species. Although many mammals are prey on the APC, the greatest threat are birds of prey.
Disease and parasites are another huge problem for Attwater’s prairie-chicken populations. Dispharynx nasuta, E. angusta, and Trichostrongylus cramae are all examples of micro parasites that effect the populations of the APC. The micro parasites E. Dispersa, Pasteurella multocida, and E. Angusta in particular all have the potential to result kill off large numbers of the APC.
Description of Recovery Plan
The recovery plan for the APC has a few main goals. A main factor contributing to this prairie-chicken’s low chance of recovery is that the public is not accurately aware of the APC’s dire situation, so there has not been enough public support or motivation to save this apparently doomed species. A part of the recovery plan would be to engage the public in efforts to try and support conservation efforts for this species, and to increase awareness of its situation.
With regards to habitat, 300,000 acres of grassland prairies along the coast are going to be maintained and improved as a part of this bird’s recovery plan. Various methods will be used to turn the land into more favorable habitats for the prairie-chickens, including the cutting of trees, moving, grazing, prescribed burning, and the application of herbicides. Exotic species populations will also be controlled, and other bird species (particularly geese) will be managed to prevent the potential spread of disease.
Captive breeding of the APC is also a big part of the APC's recovery plan. However, breeding this species in captivity has proven to be very difficult in the past. Each time it has been attempted, few eggs have hatched, and almost all of the chicks were either born too weak or died of other complications. It has been concluded that the reason for these past failures were various medical issues, particularly poorly managed diseases that the chicks were exposed to. To successfully continue breeding this species in captivity, these medical problems will have to be properly dealt with.
Much of the recovery plan requires further research, as it is not known well enough yet whether they will work. For example, it has been proposed that Attwater’s prairie-chicken could cross breed with the Greater Prairie-Chicken to increase the APC’s genetic diversity and overall population, but it is not known yet if this is a viable solution.
What Can You Do?
To help save the APC, you can donate to organizations dedicated to the conservation of endangered species. You can help spread awareness of this species’ preventable fate of extinction by bringing attention to the APC's situation, and encourage others to do the same.
Resources - Learn More
U.S. Fish and Wildlife information and resources about APC:
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Donate to the Adopt-a-Prairie-Chicken program to support the captive breeding of the APC:
George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center
Information on the APC and its captive breeding programs:
Works Cited
“Red Imported Fire Ants.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Published October 19, 2012. Web. Accessed February 16, 2018. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Attwater_Prairie_Chicken/wildlife/fire_ants.html.
“Attwater Prairie Chicken.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Published November 23, 2012. Web. Accessed February 16, 2018. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Attwater_Prairie_Chicken/wildlife/APC.html
“Attwater’s Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri).” Texas Parks and Wildlife. Web. Accessed February 20, 2018. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/apc/
“Did Hurricane Harvey Signal the Last Dance for Attwater’s Prairie Chickens?” NRDC. Published September 8, 2017. Web. Accessed February 20, 2018. https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/did-hurricane-harvey-signal-last-dance-attwaters-prairie-chickens
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2010. Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken Recovery Plan, Second Revision. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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It is interesting how the captive breeding recovery plan has not been successful. I wonder if cross breeding the species with the Greater Praire Chicken would be viable because eventually the Attwater chicken would die out. - James Yates
ReplyDeleteThis is such a unique species! I loved learning about their physical traits and how the species attracts a mate because it is so different from the regular chicken that we normally see around Central California. I'm also curious about the idea of cross breeding and why the captive breeding recovery plan has not been successful. -Hope Young
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this, I want to help with the effort. I will encourage friends and family to donate to the organization that so courageously supports these prairie chickens!-Max Tannenwald
ReplyDeleteI'm very encouraged to help out with this species recovery. I would love to tell others about the recovery plan. -Morgan White
ReplyDeleteI really liked the layout of your blog. I looked at your blog to help with my formatting and details. I enjoyed learning about this interesting chicken. I had no idea that these animals existed and your pictures were very interesting to look at. -Nick Vollucci
ReplyDeleteKelly great job! I enjoyed learning about the Attwater Prarie Chicken. I would have loved to see some more photos of this beuatiful bird. I was surprised to learn that hurricane harvey had such a huge impact on this birds nests. I am sadened to learn that there are only about five still live in the wild.-Rick Taggesell
ReplyDeleteHow the APC is threatened by weather extremes such as hurricanes, hail, storms and droughts makes sense but is something we don't usually think about when shown on the media. But it is understandable that not only humans are affected by the extreme weather events in the Gulf but also the animals that inhabit that stretch of coast as well. -Jason Wahlund
ReplyDeleteOh my god that bird is so gorgeous. They seemed to have issues with everything we've learned about so far in this class. Its tragic that these last hurricanes have seemed to exacerbate the population loss we started. - austin whaley
ReplyDeletewow these birds are beautiful and unique in their appearance and mating techniques. They are no ordinary chicken! I find it interesting that this species does not do well in captive breeding. - Emily White
ReplyDelete