Dr. Thomas Lauke, Great Eastern University’s (GEUs) field and wildlife researcher, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to determine if guinea fowl can successfully survive as wild populations in various suburban areas. Guinea fowl are known for eating deer ticks and there are areas, such as in Maine, that have high rates of Lyme disease. The goal is to establish a wild population of guinea fowl to reduce the incidence of Lyme.
Lauke submitted the IACUC protocol and was asked to join an IACUC meeting to help the IACUC understand certain details of the project. Lauke described his research, including:
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Guinea fowl would be purchased from a vendor and released into the wild to establish colonies (i.e., the animals would live, breed and hatch as wild animals).
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Because the birds start laying eggs in the spring (March/April), the birds would be released in late November so they can acclimate to the area.
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Starting in May, keets will be captured on a weekly basis and a microchip will be subcutaneously implanted into each animal, ensuring that the animals’ movement and social structure can be recorded. The keets will then be released back into the wild.
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The chip is meant to track the survival of the keets but it has limited capabilities; the birds will need to be recaptured every 6 months so the recorded data can be downloaded.
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