Provide supplementary food for ibises to increase reproductive success

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

25%
Certainty

11%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Study locations

Key messages

A study from China found that breeding success of crested ibis Nipponia nippon was correlated with the amount of supplementary food provided, although no comparison was made with unfed nests.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A study between 1982 and 2004 in Shaanxi Province, central China (Yu et al. 2006) found that the breeding success (the percentage of eggs laid fledging chicks) of crested ibis Nipponia nippon pairs was correlated with the weight of supplementary food (mainly loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) provided to supplemented nests in the breeding season. Foraging success, number of eggs and number of young fledged were ‘markedly higher’ when supplementary food was provided. The weight of food provided ranged from 167-553 kg annually for each nest, with between one and six nests supplied each year. The study does not report the relative breeding success of supplied and unsupplied nests.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Yu X., Liu N., Xi Y. & Lu B. (2006) Reproductive success of the crested ibis Nipponia nippon. Bird Conservation International, 16, 325-343.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

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