Experimental test of a conservation intervention for a highly threatened waterbird.

Wright, Hugh, Collar, Nigel, Norin, Net, Vann, Rours, Ko, Sok, Pherun, Sum, Lake, Iain ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4407-5357 and Dolman, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9340-2791 (2013) Experimental test of a conservation intervention for a highly threatened waterbird. Journal of Wildlife Management, 77 (8). pp. 1610-1617. ISSN 0022-541X

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Abstract

Human exploitation and disturbance often threaten nesting wildlife. Nest guarding, a technique that employs local people to prevent such interference, is being applied to an increasing number of species and sites, particularly in South-East Asia. Although research has begun to assess the costeffectiveness of nest guarding, case–control studies are rare and the circumstances in which the schemes are most useful remain unclear. We experimentally tested the effect of nest guarding for the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis (Pseudibis davisoni), a species exploited opportunistically for food and now largely confined to dry forests in Cambodia.We randomly applied guarded and unguarded (control) treatments to 24 and 25 nests, respectively, at a single site over 2 years. Nest guarding had no detectable effect on nest success, with an overall probability of nest success of 0.63–0.86 at guarded and 0.55–0.82 at unguarded nests. Nest monitoring across 4 study sites over 3 breeding seasons found a combination of natural predation, weather, and anthropogenic activities (robbery and vandalism) responsible for nest failure, although causes of failure remained unknown at 58% of nests. Nest guarding itself increased nest destruction at 1 site, indicating that this intervention needs cautious implementation if only a small proportion of the local community gains benefit. Comparison with other studies suggests that nest guarding effectiveness may be context-specific and differ between species that are exploited opportunistically, such as white-shouldered ibis, and those routinely targeted for trade.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: cambodia,conservation effectiveness,nest poaching,nest predation,nest protection,nest robbery,pseudibis davisoni,white-shouldered ibis,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,ecology,nature and landscape conservation ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2013 21:18
Last Modified: 20 Mar 2023 14:37
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/43860
DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.605

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