Alter artificial nest sites to discourage brood parasitism

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

Effectiveness

0%
Certainty

13%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Study locations

Key messages

A replicated trial from Puerto Rico found that brood parasitism levels were extremely high across all nest box designs tested.

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 trial in 1980 in Puerto Rico (Wiley et al. 1991) found that, shiny cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis parasitised yellow-shouldered blackbird Agelaius xanthomus nests in all 16 nest box types tested with 96% of 103 nests parasitised. The effect of cowbird control is discussed in ‘Threat: Invasive and other problematic species - Remove/control brood parasites’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Wiley J.W., Post W. & Cruz A. (1991) Conservation of the yellow-shouldered blackbird Agelaius xanthomus, an endangered West Indian species. Biological Conservation, 55, 119-138.

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

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Alter artificial nest sites to discourage brood parasitism Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Remove/treat ectoparasites to increase survival or reproductive success Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Remove/control adult brood parasites Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	12	Synopsis Link