A group of researchers has published in the scientific journal The Journal Wildlife Management a study on the African subspecies of Houbara bustard, the Canary Islands Houbara, which is in danger of extinction.
The objective was to discover the genetic characteristics and the historical evolution of this subspecies in order to obtain information to protect it. In total, 263 samples from bustard feathers and feces collected between Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa were analyzed for the first time.
"The Houbara population has decreased in recent centuries due to hunting and plundering of nests and was on the verge of extinction in Lanzarote in the mid-twentieth century," the study contextualizes.
In this sense, the cited research concluded that the "genetic variability was relatively high, with values similar to those of other species of the bustard family." This factor is understood by experts as a "positive" note: the loss of genetic variability is a threat to the survival of species.
Through this research, the authors suggest that there was a single "genetically homogeneous" population in the Canary Islands. Then, it was divided into two genetic units: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura-La Graciosa.
Currently there are a total of 450 Houbara specimens in Lanzarote, which represents a recovery of the species. As it has grown on the island of Lanzarote, after the prohibition of being hunted in 1971 and agricultural abandonment, it has been decreasing in Fuerteventura.
According to the study, the presence of the Houbara on the island of Majorera "is threatened with extinction, with only a hundred individuals." While in Lanzarote juvenile productivity is higher, in Fuerteventura it is "below the minimum for the sustainability of the population."
In this sense, the researchers stress the importance of "avoiding the extinction of the Houbara in Fuerteventura and maintaining gene flow between groups" between the three islands. To do so, the destruction of habitats throughout its distribution area must be avoided, the populations of the Canary Islands Houbara must remain connected in the three islands and the current causes of demographic regression must be "stopped".
Collisions with power and telephone lines, run over on roads or paths are the causes highlighted by the experts. In addition, in the case of Fuerteventura, they emphasize the value of controlling food in summer.
The aforementioned research was carried out jointly by researchers Jose L. Horreo from the Department of Genetics of the Complutense University of Madrid; Alberto Ucero, Carlos Palacín, Inmaculada Abril Colón and Juan C. Alonso, from the Department of Evolutionary Ecology of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (CSIC) of Madrid, as well as Alfonso López from the Department of Biodiversity and Biological Evolution of the CSIC.
