Why are Cracids Important?

Cracids are Rare
Cracids are considered the most Threatened and Endangered family of birds in the Americas - meaning the entire Western Hemisphere! About half of the 50 species are considered Threatened or Endangered. Some species such as the Alagoas Curassow are extinct in the wild, only surviving in captivity. Species such as the Trinidad Piping Guan and White-winged Guan number less than 100-200 individuals in the wild. Others such as the Blue-billed Curassow certainly do not exceed a couple of thousand individuals, all restricted to a remote region in north-central Colombia. Black-fronted Piping Guans are extremely threatened by forest fragmentation, and while most occur in Brazil today, other countries such as Paraguay only have a single population remaining. Wattled Curassows are very patchily distributed in the western Amazonian basin, and despite many recent studies throughout their range in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, it is still extremely difficult to ascertain their global population size.

The Relationship between Cracids and Man
A tightly coupled mutualism existed between cracids and humans historically, with the birds serving as an important sustainable protein source to Amerindians. However, in post-Colombian times, the rapid influx, colonization and steady human population growth throughout Latin America has led to widespread destruction of tropical forests and dramatic over-hunting of cracid populations. The reproductive strategy of most Cracids cannot compete with intensive hunting. Most species have a small clutch size of 2 eggs, and a long maturation period of 3 years, and they require large breeding territories. In contrast, gamebirds such as pheasant and quail that can be hunted more intensively have larger egg clutches, a shorter maturation period of 1 year and they usually have the ability to live at higher population densities.

The Relationship between Cracids and their Habitat
Cracids are important in regenerating the tropical forests they live in through seed dispersal dynamics. In addition, because of the large body size of most members of the family, Cracids represent an important avian biomass component for Neotropical forests. Although some species such as Chachalacas can tolerate moderate forest alteration, most species disappear when their natural habitat is destroyed. Indeed, scientists use larger Cracids (i.e., Guans and Curassows) as bio-indicators of tropical forest stability - if Cracid populations are in check, the forest is generally undisturbed and the region is not over-hunted.