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Standards for documenting and monitoring bird reintroduction projects

January 1, 2010

It would be much easier to assess the effectiveness of different reintroduction methods, and so improve the success of reintroductions, if there was greater standardization in documentation of the methods and outcomes. We suggest a series of standards for documenting and monitoring the methods and outcomes associated with reintroduction projects for birds. Key suggestions are: documenting the planned release before it occurs, specifying the information required on each release, postrelease monitoring occurring at standard intervals of 1 and 5 years (and 10 for long-lived species), carrying out a population estimate unless impractical, distinguishing restocked and existing individuals when supplementing populations, and documenting the results. We suggest these principles would apply, largely unchanged, to other vertebrate classes. Similar methods could be adopted for invertebrates and plants with appropriate modification. We suggest that organizations publicly state whether they will adopt these approaches when undertaking reintroductions. Similar standardization would be beneficial for a wide range of topics in environmental monitoring, ecological studies, and practical conservation.

Publication Year 2010
Title Standards for documenting and monitoring bird reintroduction projects
DOI 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00113.x
Authors W.J. Sutherland, D. Armstrong, S.H.M. Butchart, J.M. Earnhardt, J. Ewen, I. Jamieson, C.G. Jones, R. Lee, P. Newbery, J. D. Nichols, K.A. Parker, F. Sarrazin, P.J. Seddon, N. Shah, V. Tatayah
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Conservation Letters
Index ID 70037252
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Patuxent Wildlife Research Center