ConserveOnline - White-crowned Pigeon Research and Management

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The purpose of this workspace is to share information and resources related to the research, monitoring, management and conservation of the White-crowned Pigeon (WCPI) in the Caribbean.

The White-crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala) Working Group of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds has been working to increase our knowledge and capacity to sustainably manage the WCPI - an important game bird species in the Caribbean. With funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund, the group recently sponsored an international meeting and training workshop in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We will use this workspace to share training materials, presentations, papers, reports and other resources on the White-crowned Pigeon.

Check the Blog on this site for news and updates!

WCPI Workshop - group photo-small.jpg

Front Row (left to right): Eric Carrasco, David Knowles, Sheylda Diaz-Mendez, Cesar Abrill Caceres, Boris Planell, Tiffany Cummins, Gina Kent, Lisa Sorenson. Second Row: Eric Salamanca, Ken Meyer, Andrea Otto, Fernando Gonzalez Feliz, Esteban Garrido, Hodali Almonte, Jesus Almonte, Domingo Siri Nunez, Martina Acosta Cruz, Luis Freites, Brandon Hay, Jorge Brocca. Back Row: Tavares Thompson, Frances Lane, Ricardo Miller, Peter Ainsworth, Wayne Peters, Samuel Balbuena, Jose Berrios, Ramón Rivera, Alexis Martinez, Victor Joseph. Photo by Jorge Brocca.

Background

The white-crowned pigeon (WCPI) is threatened over much of its range due to legal and illegal hunting, poaching at nesting colonies, and habitat loss due to development. Populations have been extirpated or greatly reduced on some islands. Hunting is widespread throughout the species' range and regulations and enforcement of hunting laws vary among countries. The WCPI is important as a flagship, keystone and umbrella species, playing an important role as a seed disperser.

In 2010, SCSCB received funding from the USFWS, NMBCA for a project entitled "Research and Monitoring for the Management and Conservation of the WCPI in the Caribbean." The grant included funding for an international meeting and training workshop in 2011, small grants progrom for research & monitoring in projects in 2012, and special publications in 2012-13. The objectivesof the project are to:

Assess the conservation status of the WCPI & increase our understanding of demography and seasonal movements through management-based research and monitoring of populations in breeding and non-breeding areas
Train local biologists & wildlife managers in monitoring methodology, and analysis and presentation of data for public and decision makers
Provide opportunities to local biologists & wildlife managers to carry out research and monitoring projects through small grants and publish their results

In November 2011, SCSCB held a a workshop entitled "International Meeting and Training Workshop for White-crowned Pigeon Research, Monitoring and Management in the Caribbean," in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to build capacity and facilitate networking and a coordinated effort to study, monitor, manage and conserve this species.The workshop included:

Presentations by WCPI researchers and managers working in the US and Caribbean islands to share information.
Roundtable discussions of programs and needs, research and management questions, and priorities for small grant projects in the region.
Training in study design, point count monitoring and telemetry methodology, statistical analysis, and presentation of results to decision makers. Emphasis was given to traditional and satellite telemetry to better understand WCPI movements, and point count data to estimate detection probability, occupancy, density, abundance, and rate of change (trend).
Learning about available software, such as Distance, Presence, Mark, and R.

Resources, Papers and Reports

WCPI Workshop and WG Meeting Reports

WCPI Presentations

WCPI Papers