David Oehler

• Biology
• Vice President at Nashville Zoo

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a culturally iconic wildlife symbol for the South American Andes, but is naturally found at very low population densities, and is increasingly threatened. Using the Range Wide Priority Setting methodology, we (a group of 38 Andean Condor experts) updated the Andean Condor historical range (3,230,061 km2), syste...

Ponazuril, a novel coccidiocidal triazinetrione, has shown promise in addressing apicomplexan diseases in mammals and birds. This study describes the pharmacokinetics of ponazuril in healthy adult Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) following a single oral dose administered at two different dosages. Peafowl (four males and four females) were administer...

This study describes the novel use of diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) as a digital necropsy aid. DiceCT was used postmortem to evaluate the cause of progressive respiratory disease in a juvenile maleo (Macrocephalon maleo). The technique facilitated soft-tissue contrast and a three-dimensional investigation of...

***SPANISH VERSION AVAILABLE*** The Range-Wide Priority Setting Exercise aimed to assess the distribution and conservation status of the Andean condor, and consolidate all available information on the species, currently dispersed and scattered from all different sources, to be translated into a conservation strategy, including the participative def...

The ranging behaviors of the Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) in Trinidad are not well defined and are required to better outline fu- ture conservation management parameters for this species. Due to the nocturnal foraging behaviors of the Oilbird, past observations were restricted to colony site observations, video recordings, and limited electronic...

This chapter presents a detailed guide to hand‐rearing techniques for raising alcids. It provides valuable information on record keeping, appropriate intervention, diet protocol, housing, weaning, feeding procedures, artificial incubation, and care and stabilization criteria considered throughout the hand‐rearing process. The chapter also presents...

Rockhopper penguins are delimited as 2 species, the northern rockhopper (Eudyptes moseleyi) and the southern rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome), with the latter comprising 2 subspecies, the western rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) and the eastern rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome filholi). We conducted a phylogeographic study using multilocu...

Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans were performed in clinically healthy, nonanesthetized, standing little penguins (Eudyptula minor) to determine reference ranges for air-sac and lung volumes, as well as lung density. Five of 15 clinically healthy birds were diagnosed with pulmonary granulomas on initial MDCT scans. Granulomas were not...

Scientific Foundations of Zoos and Aquariums - edited by Allison B. Kaufman January 2019

A group of zoo-housed little penguins (Eudyptula minor) was diagnosed with mycobacteriosis. While undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging for an unrelated research project, pulmonary lesions were detected in multiple individuals. In general, birds appeared healthy and free of outward signs of disease. After the loss of three ind...

The foraging range during the breeding season and Austral winter period of Southern Rockhopper Penguins, Eudyptes c. chrysocome, has been previously documented within colonies along the coast of Argentina and in the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. We examined annual movement patterns of Southern Rockhopper Penguins to better understand the utilization...

The vertebrate extinction rate over the past century is approximately 22–100 times greater than background extinction rates [1], and large mammals are particularly at risk [2, 3]. Quaternary megafaunal extinctions have been attributed to climate change [4], overexploitation [5], or a combination of the two [6]. Rhinoceroses (Family: Rhinocerotidae)...

From 2015 to 2016 we determined the husbandry protocols involved in the captive rearing of the Band-tailed Pigeon (BTPI), Patagioenas fascinate albilinea, for use as a tool in the future management of like extant and extinct avian taxa. Current and historical ex-situ conservation management of BTPIs and the closely related Passenger Pigeon, Ectopis...

The prospect of species “de-extinction”, defined as the process of creating an organism that resembles an extinct species (but see Note on Terminology below) has moved from science fiction to plausibility within the last decade, but has been debated widely only within the last few years. The increasing public profile of species “de-extinction” has...

The Scarlet Macaw Propulation Recovery in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala is a team effort, involving the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) offices in New York and Guetemala. The scarlet macaw, Ara macao, is one of the sixteen species of macaw currently in existence and distributed over the tropical rain-forest region of the Americas, the n...

Here we outline the captive husbandry of the Lesser Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus), the insitu conservation efforts and the interconnection between these elements within the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The development of protocols is required to maintain and propagate these storks ex-situ and to protect the breeding colonies within...

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) began successfully breeding a pair of wild caught birds in its Species Survival Center on Saint Catherine Island off the Georgia coast in 1988. Beginning in 1996, the offspring from this pair were transferred to the WCS/Bronx Zoo in New York, where they continue to be part of a successful breeding and researc...

In Ovo MRI during the pipping of a Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens King penguin chick.

Resumen En las costas de Argentina se reproducen tres especies de pingüinos: el Pingüino de Magallanes (Spheniscus magellanicus), el Pingüino Penacho Amarillo (Eudyptes chrysocome) y el Pingüino Papúa (Pygoscelis papua). El Pingüino Rey (Aptenodytes patagonica) se reproducía históricamente en Isla de los Estados y recientemente ha sido registrado...

Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Southern Rockhopper penguins (E. c. chrysocome) have been classified as Vulnerable due to decreasing populations in recent decades. We report on a survey of Isla Recalada, Chile, a site described historically as containing an estimated population of 10,013 (±570) Rockhopper and 559 Macaroni penguins. Our survey...

We surveyed the coast of Chile between Isla Terhalten (54° 20′ S) and Islote Leonard (55°  44′ S) by boat during November–December 2005 to document breeding locations of Rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) and Macaroni (E. chrysolophus) penguins, and to count the number of nests during the early incubation period. A yacht-based observation...

We describe a new colony of Black-browed Albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) from the Magallanes region, southern Chile. The colony was located at Islote Leonard (55°23' S 74°04' W) with a population of 594 breeding pairs. We also did measure some eggs and comments on other colonies mentioned on the literature such as Evout and Noir islands. The...

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of the Rockhopper (Eudyptes c. chrysocome) and Macaroni Penguins (E. chrysolophus) within the study are. Changes in numbers would have noteworthy affects on the staus of Eudyptid penguins. The Southern Rockhopper Penguin and Macaroni Penguins are classified as Vulnerable. Rockhopper Penguins hav...

The response of a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills, Buceros rhinoceros, to scheduled artificial monsoon rainfall and subsequent cessation of this artificial rainfall was observed as it pertained to circannual behavior and resulting reproductive behaviors. Examination of the relationship of reproductive success to the provision of artificial rain and th...

New World parrots are declining throughout their range. Blue and Gold Macaw Ara ararauna was extirpated from the island of Trinidad in the late 1960s through anthropogenic processes. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is assisting the Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division, Trinidad on a mission to restore the species into its historical...

The Least Auklet, Aethia pusilla, nests along the islands of the Bering Sea. Here we describe the hand-rearing of Least Auklet chicks and the husbandry techniques involved in maintaining this species ex-situ.

A cooperative method was developed for collecting semen from a Magellanic penguin. Ejaculate parameters and semen production during a breeding season were characterized. Experiments were performed to study the effect on penguin spermatozoa of two temperatures (4°C and 21°C) for short-term storage, and two cryoprotectants (dimethylsulfoxide [DMSO] a...

Parakeet Auklets (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula), were collected as chicks on St. Lawrence Island in 1993, for the Cincinnati Zoo. The burrows in which the Parakeets nested were well dispersed along the talus slopes and cliffs and offered protection from predators such as the Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus). the Parakeet chicks were reared in artificial bu...

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens acquired three species of Halcyon; White-breasted Kingfisher, Halcyon s. smyrnensis, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, H. a. albiventris, and the Micronesian Kingfisher, H. c. cinnamomina. Due to the situation on the island of Guam, information was available for the propagation of the Micronesian species but paramete...

The genus Phalcoboenus of caracaras is a New World group that is comprised of four medium size species, mainly scavenger birds of prey. The four species are linked mainly to vegetation free zone along the Andean-patagonian axis, from Ecuador south to the southern end of South America (Vuilleumier 1970, 1991). The Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus aus...