Translocate individuals

Overall effectiveness category Beneficial
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

64%
Certainty

65%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Translocations, also known as relocations, reintroductions, restocking, or repatriations, involve the intentional release of captive-bred and/or wild-caught birds into the wild in order to re-establish a population that has been lost, or augment a critically small population. This can reduce the risk of inbreeding, or simply increase the range of a species and therefore the maximum possible population. Translocations are also frequently used to move birds to areas that have been cleared of invasive predators, particularly on islands. This intervention is not the same as that of periodically moving next boxes to prevent predators from learning their locations, discussed in ‘Invasive and other problematic species’.

Translocations are typically expensive and may risk spreading pathogens to previously unexposed areas.

Study locations

Key messages

A review of 239 bird translocation programmes found 63–67% resulted in establishment of self-sustaining populations.

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 review of two years (1987 and 1993) of survey data from 239 bird translocations in North America and Australasia (Wolf et al. 1996) showed 63% of 134 translocations in 1987 and 67% of 105 in 1993 resulted in the establishment of self-sustaining populations. Those translocations involving larger numbers of individuals, translocations of native game species (rather than threatened species), and translocations into the core (rather than the periphery) of the species’ historical range were most likely to establish self-sustaining populations.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Wolf C., Griffith B., Reed C. & Temple S.A. (1996) Avian and mammalian translocations: update and reanalysis of 1987 survey data. Conservation Biology, 10, 1142-1154.

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

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Use decoys to attract birds to safe areas Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	12	Synopsis Link
Ensure genetic variation to increase translocation success Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Translocate individuals Action Link	Beneficial	1	Synopsis Link