STUDY OF THE CARRYING CAPACITY OF AN AVIARY TO ESTABLISH A BREEDING FLOCK OF SCARLET MACAW Ara macao cyanopterus AT XCARET ECO PARK, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO.

摘要

The subspecies of Scarlet Macaw A. m. cyanopterus forms part of the Psittacidae family and is distributed locally in SE Mexico (E Chiapas) to E Nicaragua in humid regions or in tropical forests. It is in danger of extinction and this is why it has reproduction and reintroduction programs such as those offered by the Xcaret Park, Mexico. In order to provide breeding pairs with more flying space, this project was established aiming to give them conditions similar to those found in the wild. The main objective was to calculate the carrying capacity of the area where the couples could be relocated. 12 couples were released into an aviary of 326.07m~2; but according to our calculations it could theoretically accommodate a total of 48 couples in the future. The facilities respect the needs of the population present during the study, with the 24 individuals having a total of 15 feeding points (enough to supply 36), 118 perch sites and nine water points. It will be necessary to increase the number of feeders and troughs, once the population reaches the maximum load capacity, as well as the installation of nest sites and the planting of native trees. To reiterate, the established load capacity must not be exceeded in order to respect the determined livingspaces, the needs of each individual, and to ensure the greatest possible welfare of the macaw pairs that use it.