Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use coloured baits to reduce accidental mortality during predator control Two replicated and controlled trials in the USA found that dyed baits were consumed at significantly lower rates than control baits. A replicated, randomised and controlled trial in Australia found no differences in consumption rates of dyed and control baits. Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F182https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F182Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:40:17 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use mowing techniques to reduce chick mortality A review from the UK found a large increase in corncrake Crex crex populations in the UK following a scheme to delay mowing and promote corncrake-friendly mowing techniques. One replicated controlled study from the UK and a review from the UK found lower levels of mortality of corncrakes and Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis when wildlife-friendly mowing techniques were used, compared to other techniques.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F192https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F192Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:30:44 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Sow crops in spring rather than autumn A replicated, controlled, paired sites study from Sweden found more bird species on areas with spring sown cereals, compared with winter cereals. A before-and-after study from the UK found that several species bred in the study site for the first time after the start of spring sowing. Three studies from Sweden and the UK, two replicated and controlled, found population increases after the start of spring sowing, or higher populations on sites with spring-sown cereals, compared to sites with winter cereals. A before-and-after study from the UK found that ten species did not increase after spring sowing began. No species decreased. A replicated, controlled paired sites study from Sweden found that the benefits of spring-sowing decreased with the proportion of autumn-sown crops in the surrounding area. A replicated, controlled study from Sweden found that hatching success was lower on spring-sown crops than autumn sown.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F207https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F207Sun, 15 Jul 2012 17:16:58 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Plant cereals for whole crop silageA replicated, controlled trial in the UK found that seed-eating birds used CBWCS fields, especially those planted with barley, more than other crops in both summer and winter. Insect-eating species used other crops and grassland more.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F225https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F225Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:12:29 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use wildlife refuges to reduce hunting disturbance Three studies from the USA and Europe found that bird densities were higher in refuges where hunting was prohibited, compared to areas with hunting. In addition, two studies found that more birds used hunting-free areas during the open season and on hunting days. No studies investigated the population-level impacts of these refuges.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F278https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F278Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:34:46 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use prescribed burning on Australian sclerophyll forest Two of three studies from Australia found no differences in bird species richness in burned sites compared to unburned areas. Three studies found differences in species assemblages in burned and unburned areas, with some species lost and others gained from areas after fire.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F319https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F319Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:44:29 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Foster eggs or chicks of songbirds with wild non-conspecifics (cross-fostering) A replicated study from the USA found that the survival of cross-fostered yellow warbler Dendroica petechia chicks was lower than previously-published rates for the species, although incubation and nestling periods were very similar. A replicated and controlled study from Norway found that the success of cross-fostering small songbirds varied depending on the species of chick and foster birds. However, only great tits P. major raised by blue tits P. caeruleus had lower pairing success than control birds, whilst blue tits raised by coal tits P. ater had higher recruitment than controls, or those raised by great tits.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F520https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F520Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:37:20 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for gannets and boobies to increase reproductive success A small controlled study in Australia found that Australasian gannet Morus serrator chicks were significantly heavier if they were supplied with supplementary food, but only in one of two years. Fledging success of fed nests was also higher, but not significantly so. A randomised replicated and controlled study in the Galapagos Islands found that fed female Nazca boobies Sula granti were more likely to produce two-egg clutches if they were fed, and that second eggs were significantly heavier.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F523https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F523Sat, 08 Sep 2012 13:25:20 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for owls to increase reproductive success Two replicated and controlled trials from Europe and the USA found that owls supplied with supplementary food had higher hatching and fledging rates than control pairs. The European study, but not the American, also found that fed pairs laid earlier  and had larger clutches The American study also found that owls were no more likely to colonise nest boxes provided with supplementary food.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F533https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F533Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:15:10 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for wildfowl to increase adult survival Two studies from Canada and Northern Ireland found that five species of wildfowl readily consumed supplementary food (grains and seeds). Only the Canadian study assessed the physiological effects of feeding, and found that fed birds were heavier and had larger hearts or flight muscles or had more body fat than controls  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F542https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F542Sun, 16 Sep 2012 08:47:27 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for raptors to increase adult survivalTwo randomised, replicated and controlled studies in the USA found that nesting northern goshawks Accipiter gentilis were significantly heavier in territories supplied with supplementary food, compared with those from unfed territories.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F546https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F546Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:12:47 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for cranes to increase adult survivalA before-and-after study from Japan and a global literature review found that local crane populations increased after the provision of supplementary food.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F547https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F547Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:19:25 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide supplementary food for pigeons to increase adult survival A study of a recently-released pink pigeon Nesoenas mayeri population on Mauritius found that fewer than half the birds used supplementary food, and appeared to survive without it. However, a later study of the population found that almost all birds were recorded using supplementary feeders.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F549https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F549Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:24:17 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Translocate pelicansTwo reviews of a brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis translocation programme in the USA found high survival of translocated nestlings and that the target population grew enormously, to over 16,000 nests. The authors note that some of the growth may have been due to immigration from the source populations.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F569https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F569Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:58:02 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Translocate owls A small study from New Zealand found that translocating two male boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae allowed the establishment of a small population, when they interbred with the last remaining Norfolk Island boobook N. n. undulata A replicated study in the USA found high survival amongst burrowing owls Athene cunicularia translocated as juveniles, although no breeding was recorded and all birds left the release site and were not seen again.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F576https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F576Sun, 30 Sep 2012 14:32:21 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use techniques to increase the survival of species after capture A small controlled study from the USA found that providing dark, quiet environments with readily-available food and water increased the survival of small birds after capture and increased the probability that they would accept captivity. A study from Hawaii found that keeping birds warm in a ‘mock’ translocation in Hawaii increased survival, although all birds suffered some loss of condition.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F581https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F581Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:18:18 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Ensure translocated birds are familiar with each other before releaseTwo controlled trials from New Zealand found no evidence that translocating birds which were familiar with each other was more likely to succeed than translocating unfamiliar birds.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F582https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F582Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:23:28 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Artificially incubate and hand-rear penguins in captivityTwo replicated and controlled studies from South Africa found that hand-reared and released African penguins Spheniscus demersus had similar survival and breeding success as birds which were not orphaned and hand-reared.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F605https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F605Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:08:04 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Artificially incubate and hand-rear cranes in captivityA replicated and controlled study and a small study, both from the USA, found that hand-reared birds showed normal reproductive behaviour and higher survival than parent-reared birds.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F609https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F609Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:44:21 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Artificially incubate and hand-rear bustards in captivity A review of a houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii captive breeding programme in Saudi Arabia found that there was no difference in survival between artificially and parentally incubated eggs. A second review of the same programme found that removing eggs from clutches as they were laid increased the number laid by females.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F610https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F610Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:57:07 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Artificially incubate and hand-rear storks and ibises in captivityA small study in the USA describes the successful artificial incubation and hand-rearing of two Abdim’s stork Ciconia abdimii chicks, whilst a review of northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita conservation found that only very intensive rearing of a small number of chicks appeared to allow strong bonds to form between chicks – thought to be important for the successful release of birds into the wild.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F612https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F612Sun, 14 Oct 2012 11:55:51 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Release captive-bred individuals into the wild to restore or augment wild populations of storks and ibisesA replicated study and a review of northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita release programmes in Europe and the Middle East found that only one of four had resulted in a wild population being established or supported, with many birds dying or dispersing, rather than forming stable colonies.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F624https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F624Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:38:18 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Release captive-bred individuals into the wild to restore or augment wild populations of owls A study in the USA found that a barn owl Tyto alba population was established following the release of 157 birds in the area over three years. A replicated, controlled study in Canada found that released burrowing owls Athene cunicularia had similar reproductive output, but higher mortality than wild birds, and no released birds returned after migration, although return rates for released birds’ offspring were no different from wild birds.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F627https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F627Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:47:34 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use appropriate populations to source released populations A replicated study from Sweden and a small study from France found that birds sourced from populations distant from where they were released were less successful than birds from the area. In Sweden, released white storks Ciconia ciconia from North Africa produced fewer than half the chicks as those that naturally re-colonised, whilst both studies found that storks and little bustards Tetrax tetrax were less likely to migrate than birds originating in the release area.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F631https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F631Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:16:17 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use ‘anti-predator training’ to improve survival after release A review from Pakistan and a small trial from Saudi Arabia found that pheasants and bustards had higher survival after release, when given pre-release predator training, compared to birds without training, many of which were predated. The Saudi Arabian study found that introducing a model fox (as opposed to a live predator) to cages did not increase post-release survival. Introducing a live fox to the cage increased post-release survival more than other techniques used.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F637https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F637Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:49:41 +0100
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

More about What Works in Conservation

Download free PDF or purchase
The Conservation Evidence Journal

The Conservation Evidence Journal

An online, free to publish in, open-access journal publishing results from research and projects that test the effectiveness of conservation actions.

Read the latest volume: Volume 21

Go to the CE Journal

Discover more on our blog

Our blog contains the latest news and updates from the Conservation Evidence team, the Conservation Evidence Journal, and our global partners in evidence-based conservation.

Who uses Conservation Evidence?

Meet some of the evidence champions

Endangered Landscape ProgrammeRed List Champion - Arc Kent Wildlife Trust The Rufford Foundation Save the Frogs - Ghana Mauritian Wildlife Supporting Conservation Leaders
Sustainability Dashboard National Biodiversity Network Frog Life The international journey of Conservation - Oryx Cool Farm Alliance UNEP AWFA Bat Conservation InternationalPeople trust for endangered species Vincet Wildlife Trust
For a full list of, and information about, our champions:
All Evidence Champions
About our champions, why and how to become one:
Become an Evidence Champion

This website uses Cookies

We use limited Cookies to run the site and to analyse our traffic (none for site vendors). By using this site, you will be providing your consent to our use of Cookies.

Accept & continue