Action

Action Synopsis: Bird Conservation About Actions

Deter birds from landing on shellfish culture gear using spikes on oyster cages

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    60%
  • Certainty
    43%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

A replicated and controlled study from Canada found that significantly fewer birds landed on oyster cages with spikes attached, compared to control cages.

 

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

  1. A replicated and controlled experiment in summer and autumn 2006 and 2007 in oyster Crassostrea virginica farms off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada (Comeau et al. 2009), found that ‘AntiCormo’ devices (spikes attached to oyster cage floats) significantly reduced the number of birds roosting on oyster cages (0-1.3 birds/100 cages at one site with AnitCormo cages; 0-42 birds at a second vs. 100-499 birds/100 cages at a control farm). Five species were seen on oyster cages (double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus, herring gull Larus argentatus, great black-backed gull L. marinus, common tern Sterna hirundo and great blue heron Ardea herodias).

    Study and other actions tested
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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Bird Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation
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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.

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