Resumen de Técnicas para la reproducción en cautiverio de Tinamus major fuscipennis (Tinamiformes, Tinamidae), ZooAve, Costa Rica
Laura Fournier, Raúl Fournier, Dennis Janik
Tinamus major is a non- migratory Neotropical bird that in Costa Rica lives in a restricted area. The reproductive and behavioral characteristics of this specie and its family are unique. Also, its endangered status in Costa Rica and its importance as a food source for large carnivores makes it necessary to have strategies to preserve this specie. In ZooAve, Costa Rica, a captivity reproduction technique for Tinamus major fuscipennis has been designed.
Four groups of parents were used, with different proportions of male-female. The reproduction period was from January to October. The eggs were collected and measurements of weigh, length and diameter were taken. The eggs were incubated for 15-16 days at 37.8 ºC with 96% humidity. The better composition male-female groups were the ones with two or three females and one male. The total number of eggs collected during the three years was of 672. The average weight was 77.82 ± 7.3g, the average length was 61.81 ± 4.4mm and the average diameter was 48.5 ± 2.2mm. The average weight of the chicks was 55.2 ± 6.3g. The results indicate that egg infertility decreases in the first reproduction period, and in groups with larger numbers of males. This is explained by its polyandric reproduction.
Competition to reproduce increases in those groups with a lot of males making it difficult for any one male to fertilize the female; at the other extreme, many females means that the few males can not fertilize all of them. It is important to have an effective reproduction technique because this family has different temperature and humidity requirements during the incubation period than have other species of birds, and also because the reproduction of this species is difficult to study in the field.
