Captive breeding and rearing of critically endangered Mauritius fodies Foudia rubra for reintroduction

Abstract

In-situ captive rearing of endangered passerines for reintroduction has rarely been used as a conservation tool. Nests of Mauritius fodies threatened with predation by introduced mammalian predators were harvested from the wild, and chicks were reared to independence for release onto an offshore, predator-free island. The daily probability of the survival was higher in captivity than in the wild, and 69 chicks were reared to fledging of which 47 would have been expected to fledge in the wild. Harvesting of nests probably had little impact on the wild population. Captive breeding trials on Mauritius fodies showed that large numbers of individuals could be produced for a release program from a small number of pairs if enough space was provided. Artificial incubation of passerine eggs and rearing of chicks can be used to increase the productivity of endangered taxa. Zoos can play an important role in in-situ conservation programs through provision of avicultural expertise and training of local staff. Zoo Biol 27:255-268, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Ecological Restoration in a Developing Island Nation: How Useful is the Science?

“…This grim situation has attracted considerable conservation efforts (Jones ). As a result, Mauritius now contributes to the advancement of restoration science by serving as a laboratory to test various restoration approaches like alien mammal eradication (North et al ), invasive alien plants control (Dulloo et al ), re‐introduction of locally extinct species (Thébaud et al ), species translocation (Cristinacce et al ), or introduction of analog species to restore ecosystem function (Griffiths et al ). This flurry of restoration activity and research supports our assumption that, for a developing country, Mauritius is expected to perform well in these fields.…”

Additive negative effects of Philornis nest parasitism on small and declining Neotropical bird populations

“…Nests of already small and declining bird populations should be examined first. Mitigating actions might include manually removing larvae from nestlings, applying a mild insecticide to nests to kill the fly larvae (Cristinacce et al 2009, Knutie et al 2014), and the head-starting technique (Cristinacce et al 2008). For invasive nest parasites like P. downsi in Galápagos, the introduction of specialised biological control agents (Bulgarella et al 2017, Boulton and Heimpel 2017, Delvare et al 2017, Heimpel 2017, Boulton et al in press) or sterile male release may be feasible management options (Dudaniec et al 2010, Lahuatte et al 2016; Fessl et al 2018).…”

“…A more intensive conservation approach, head-starting, started in 2014 aimed at keeping the population buoyant and viable in the short term (Cunninghame et al 2015). In brief, this technique consists of collecting eggs and/or nestlings from wild nests, artificially incubating eggs and hand-rearing chicks in captivity followed by the release of the juvenile birds back into the wild (Cristinacce et al 2008, Cunninghame et al 2015, Fessl et al 2018), effectively circumventing the critical nesting period when P. downsi larvae feed on nestlings. Over four seasons of head-starting, from 2014 to 2017, a total of 39 juvenile Mangrove Finches have been released back into the wild.…”

Applying Systems Thinking and Logic Models to Evaluate Effectiveness in Wildlife Conservation

“…The Fody is highly endangered, and an important en- with most activity taking place on the small predator-free islet of Ile aux Aigrettes, a restored island approximately 800 m off the south-east coast of Mauritius (Cristinacce, Garrett, Cole, Tatayah, & Jones, 2010). The conservation management intervention was initially very intensive, taking place through to 2006 with captive rearing of chicks and release of adult birds on Ile aux Aigrettes to establish a secondary location for the species in Mauritius (Cristinacce et al, 2008;Ferriere & Baboorun, 2014Hotopp, 2012;Mccready, 2013). Population monitoring, nest management techniques and supplementary feeding have been carried out over the life of the project, but other intensive management activities have now been reduced.…”