Managing Population Reintroduction

Question 1

What does reintroduction mean?

Answer 1

An attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or has become extinct

Question 2

What does translocation mean?

Answer 2

deliberated and mediated movement of wild individuals or populations to one part of their range to another

Question 3

What does reinforcement/supplementation mean?

Answer 3

addition of individuals to an existing population of conspecifics.

Question 4

What is the Pere’s David Deer example?

Answer 4

Asian deer (tufted tail, big feet) that was extinct in the wild for 800 years before being reintroduced.
Lived in swamps in northeast China
-swamps were drained for agriculture in Shang dynasty. became extinct
-Pere David sent 19 to a zoo in Europe. Population skyrockets in captivity. Extinct in wild.
-Sent deer back to china in wild and now they are thriving in the wild.

Question 5

Why do reintroductions not work sometimes?

Answer 5

• problems that caused population decline in the first place are still there.
• success often requires repeated translocations/reintroductions of substantial number of individuals
• may need soft release
• use of captive-reared animals (not fit for wild)

Question 6

What could be some problems with the habitat that the reintroduction is taking place in?

Answer 6

-has another animal filled the void left by the decline of the first animal?
-has habitat had human degradation in it?
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Question 7

Hard vs soft releases differences

Answer 7

• acclimatization of release stock to release area
• behavioral training- does release stock has hunting/feeding skills
• release stock composition (young/old, etc)
• number of stock
• release patterns and techniques
• timing (season)

Question 8

American Burying Beetle case study

Answer 8

• declined due to any number of reasons (passenger pigeon food, prevalence of outdoor lighting, insecticides?)
• captive breeding - used individual buckets of soil for larvae to hatch - then tunnel underground to fully form
• institutions have released over 700 beetles to Mass. islands.
• zoos have created over 20 generations

Question 9

California Condor case study (bird)

Answer 9

big bird- range from California to florida

• fed on huge mammals like mammoths, ground sloths, and camels
• in captive rearing - chicks are raised without human touch and given a power line to perch on to learn to stay away
• reintroduced to two areas to safeguard against catastrophes
• soft release with radio transmitters to track. population is rising in wild

Question 10

Black-footed ferret case study

Answer 10

reason for decline - habitat destruction due to farming
-effort by farmers to eliminate prarie dogs by farmers (which ferrets eat)
-sylvatic plague
6 of last known individuals were placed in captive breeding
-reintroduction successful. 1,000 individuals live in wild and more are being reintroduced every year