Species Translocations

In most urban and agricultural landscapes, remnants of native vegetation are surrounded by an inhospitable matrix.
Although vagile species come and go, many reptiles, amphibians and small mammals are effectively stranded
and declining towards local extinction. In the same landscapes, other areas where these species are absent are
improving in habitat quality, both through natural regeneration and active restoration efforts. So, for many species
in many domesticated landscapes, there are too many individuals in some patches of decreasing quality and
no individuals in patches of increasing quality. One solution to this situation is to move animals from those areas
where there are plenty to suitable areas where there are none. These targeted translocations apply lessons
learned from revegetation to dispersal-limited animals to in-fill distributional ranges, increase population size
and improve both demographic and genetic connectivity, pushing nonequilibrialmetapopulations away fromextinction
via an imposed mass effect. In contrast to conventional reintroduction schemes—expensive, reactive interventions
involving highly-trained specialists and captive-raised endangered species—these inexpensive,
proactive, community-driven initiatives aimto avert future declines by keeping common species common. Having
introduced the wildlife restoration vision, we use two scenarios to illustrate the benefits of the approach—to
species, ecosystem function, ecological understanding, restoration practise and public engagement. As well as
adhering to best-practise reintroduction techniques to ensure animal welfare is not compromised and avoid
detrimental effects to source populations or release sites, we emphasize community participation, data quality
and long-term accessibility as paramount to maximize learning opportunities.

Reintroduction of native species has become increasingly important in conservation worldwide for recovery of rare species and restoration purposes. However, few studies have reported the outcome of reintroduction efforts in plant species. Using data from the literature combined with a questionnaire survey, this paper analyses plant species reintroduction trials worldwide by assessing the methods used and the results obtained from these reintroduction experiments. The objectives were: (1) to examine how successful plant species reintroductions have been so far in establishing or significantly augmenting viable, self-sustaining populations in nature; (2) to determine the conditions under which we might expect plant species reintroductions to be most successful; (3) to make the results of this survey available for future plant reintroduction trials. Results indicate that survival, flowering and fruiting rates of reintroduced plants are generally quite low. Furthermore, our results show a downward trend with time. We identified various parameters influencing plant reintroduction outcomes, e.g., material type, number of individuals reintroduced, provenance of material introduced, demographic status of source population, introduction method and manipulations in the field. The detection of the effects of these variables on reintroduction success is of considerable importance for conservation management. This study also revealed shortcomings of common experimental designs that greatly limit the interpretation of plant reintroduction studies. We therefore conclude by suggesting improvements for the design of future reintroductions.

1. When species face extinction, captive breeding may be appropriate. However, captive breeding may be unsuccessful, while reducing motivation and resources for in situ conservation and impacting wild source populations. Despite such risks, decisions are generally taken without rigorous evaluation. We develop an individual-based, stochastic population model to evaluate the potential effectiveness of captive-breeding and release programmes, illustrated by the critically endangered Ardeotis nigriceps Vigors great Indian bustard. 2. The model was parameterized from a comprehensive review of captive breeding and wild demography of large bustards. To handle uncertainty in the standards of captive-breeding performance that may be achieved, we explored four scenarios of programme quality: 'full range' (parameters sampled across the observed range), 'below average', 'above average' and 'best possible' (performance observed in exemplary breeding programmes). Results are evaluated examining: (i) the probability of captive population extirpation within 50 years and (ii) numbers of adult females subsequently established in the wild following release, compared to an alternative strategy of in situ conservation without attempting captive breeding. 3. Successful implementation of captive breeding, involving permanent retention of 20 breeding females and release of surplus juveniles, required collection of many wild eggs and consistent 'best possible' performance across all aspects of the programme. Under 'full-range' and 'above-average' scenarios, captive population extirpation probabilities were 73–88% and 23–51% respectively, depending on egg collection rates. 4. Although most (73–92%) 'best possible' programmes supported releases, re-establishment of free-living adults also required effective in situ conservation. Incremental implementation of effective conservation measures over the initial 10 years resulted in more free-living adults within 35 years if eggs were left in the wild without attempting captive breeding. 5. Synthesis and applications. For the great Indian bustard Ardeotis nigriceps, rapid implementation of in situ conservation offers a better chance to avoid extinction than captive breeding. Demographic modelling of threatened species should be used to examine whether captive breeding will bring net benefits to conservation programmes.

Evidence from DNA phylogeny, Plio-Pleistocene ocean currents, giant tortoise dispersal,evolution of plant defences, radiocarbon dates and archaeology indicates that the endemic giant tortoises on the Mascarenes and Seychelles colonized naturally and were not translocated there by humans.

Supplementary feeding has proven to be a successful conservation tool for many species, including New Zealand's hihi (stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta). Previous research has shown supplementary feeding to substantially increase hihi reproductive success at regenerating forest sites, but suggested that it would have reduced benefit in mature forest habitat. Here we report the first direct test of the effect of supplementary feeding on hihi reproductive success in mature forest, using data from the recently reintroduced population at Maungatautari Ecological Island. Eight feeder-using females and nine non-feeder-using females were monitored during the 2012/13 breeding season at Maungatautari to determine how feeder use affected reproductive success (nest success, number of first-clutch fledglings per female and total number of fledglings per female). Feeder-using females fledged 3.7 times as many fledglings as non-feeder-using females in their first-clutch attempts (95% CI 1.6–8.8), and 1.8 times as many fledglings in total (95% CI 1.0–3.5). No feeder-using female experienced nest failure, whereas 7 of the 16 nest attempts of non-feeder-using females failed to fledge any young. The results suggest that, counter to expectations, supplementary feeder use has a significant impact on reproductive success in mature forest habitat. At least for Maungatautari, providing supplementary food in mature forest habitat appears to greatly reduce the probability of hihi nest failure, and increases the number of young a female can fledge.

Eastern collared lizards of the Ozarks live in glades—open, rocky habitats embedded in a woodland matrix. Past fire suppression had made the woodlands a barrier to dispersal , leading to habitat destruction, fragmentation and local extinction. Reintroduced populations of lizards were subjected to 10 years of habitat fragmentation under continued fire suppression followed by twelve years of landscape restoration with prescribed burns. Prior to prescribed burning, genetic diversity decreased within glades and differentiation increased among glades. With woodland burning, genetic diversity within glades first decreased during an expanding colonization phase, but then increased as a dynamically stable metapopulation was established. Population differentiation among glades also stabilized in the metapopulation under weak isolation-by-distance. This study is one of the first to examine the genetic changes in a species of conservation concern throughout all the stages of decline and recovery and shows the importance of landscape-level restoration for maintaining the genetic integrity of populations. This study also demonstrates how mark–recapture and genetic data together can yield detailed insight into metapopulation dynamics that would be impossible from just one type of data alone.