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1 April 2004 Treatment of capture myopathy in shorebirds: a successful trial in northwestern Australia
Danny I. Rogers, Phil F. Battley, Jan Sparrow, Anita Koolhaas, Chris J. Hassell
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Abstract

Shorebirds held during banding activities can develop muscle cramps, especially when temperatures are high and birds are heavy. Such capture myopathy can be fatal or render birds vulnerable to predators. We rehabilitated Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris), Red Knots (C. canutus), Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica), and Red-necked Stints (C. ruficollis) in northwestern Australia. We kept birds in slings (if cramped) or in a small cage (if able to walk) and gave them daily standing exercises. Recovery of severely cramped birds took up to 14 d, which may reflect a critical period of tissue regeneration. Of 15 knots (8 Red and 7 Great) taken into captivity, 12 were rehabilitated and released. The resighting rate after the breeding season of the rehabilitated birds was the same as for other birds color-banded during our research, indicating that the rehabilitation was successful. We conclude that rehabilitating cramped shorebirds is possible though time-consuming. A sex bias in susceptibility to capture myopathy is suggested by seven of the eight Red Knots treated being male; the sex ratio in the local population was 1:1.

Danny I. Rogers, Phil F. Battley, Jan Sparrow, Anita Koolhaas, and Chris J. Hassell "Treatment of capture myopathy in shorebirds: a successful trial in northwestern Australia," Journal of Field Ornithology 75(2), 157-164, (1 April 2004). https://doi.org/10.1648/0273-8570-75.2.157
Received: 22 May 2002; Accepted: 1 July 2003; Published: 1 April 2004
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KEYWORDS
Capture myopathy
migration
rehabilitation
Shorebirds
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