Translocate auks

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

Effectiveness

36%
Certainty

38%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Like Procellariiformes (petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses, see previous section), auks show strong homing instincts and so are unlikely to recolonise islands or areas where they have become extinct.

Study locations

Key messages

A replicated study in the USA and Canada found that 20% of 774 translocated Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica remained in or near the release site, with up to 7% breeding.

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 replicated study reviewing a 1973-81 translocation programme for Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica (Kress & Nettleship 1998) found that less than 0.3% of 774 nestlings moved from Newfoundland, Canada, to Maine, USA, died during the move, with 95% of the remaining 772 birds successfully fledging. Twelve percent (87 birds) were re-sighted at the release site, with a further 8% (60 birds) seen elsewhere in the Gulf of Maine. Translocated birds were first recorded as breeding in 1981, with at least 36 translocated birds and six other birds being confirmed as breeding at the release site in 1985, with 17 more birds breeding on other islands nearby. Seventy eight percent of these breeding attempts (49 attempts) produced chicks surviving for at least 21 days. Nestlings between two and 40 days old were taken from their burrows and moved to the release site within 17 hours. They were then confined to artificial burrows and fed two meals of 50 g of fish and vitamins daily for seven days. They were then allowed to leave the burrows to begin flying. From 1977 onwards, puffin decoys were placed on the island to encourage birds to return, and herring gull Larus argentatus and great black-backed gull L. marinus were culled and nests destroyed in 1974-5.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Kress S.W. & Nettleship D.N. (1988) Re-establishment of Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) at a former breeding site in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Field Ornithology, 59, 161-170.

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
Ensure translocated birds are familiar with each other before release Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Translocate herons, storks and ibises Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Translocate auks Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link