Avian conservation translocations | #BOUsci24

Avian conservation translocations: from reinforcements to reintroductions to rewilding

Conference theme, aims and scope

As the global biodiversity and climate crises continue to escalate, there is a growing need for bold interventions aimed at restoring threatened populations and mitigating species extinctions. Conservation translocation, defined as “the deliberate movement of organisms from one site for release in another” for conservation benefit at a “population, species or ecosystem” level (IUCN, 2013), is a well-established conservation strategy that has been gaining popularity in recent decades. While commonly used to reintroduce species to historic parts of their range, translocations are also used to reinforce existing populations; restore ecosystem function; and mitigate the effects of climate change and other emerging pressures on small populations.

Birds are commonly translocated, and their vulnerability to threats such as habitat loss, introduced species, disease and climate change, means that translocation will likely grow in its utility and necessity for avian conservation. Overall, translocations can have high rewards, but they also come with high risks, and involve complex considerations during the justification, planning and implementation stages of the process that can impact the outcome of an intervention. This conference will discuss the latest research in avian translocation science and practice, identifying key opportunities and challenges to develop these fields. It aims to share knowledge and experiences from past, ongoing and planned translocation programmes to inform future translocation efforts.

This conference will cover a range of topics related to avian conservation translocations worldwide, including:

• Demographic aspects and recent advances associated with translocation planning and monitoring;
• Behavioural, genetic, health and welfare considerations for captive breeding programmes and translocation of wild-borne individuals;
• Restoration of ecosystem function via reintroductions, ecological replacements and rewilding;
• Implementation of decision science and adaptive management to improve translocation planning, monitoring, and evaluation;
• Relevance of conservation social science and engagement to translocations.

Our parallel conference format

The BOU strives to make all our events inclusive and accessible. To help achieve this we now run all in-person and virtual Zoom conferences as dual platforms events with a Twitter conference running alongside the main in-person/virtual event.

Every presenter at a in-person/virtual event will now be required to tweet a summary of their presentation as part of the parallel Twitter event. We will also include additional Twitter-only presentations during the breaks of the in-person/virtual event.

For example, our BOUsci20 virtual Zoom event attracted an ‘in-the-room’ audience of 375 registrants, but the parallel Twitter event had over 550 participants, an ‘in-the-room’ audience of >1,600 people and a wider reach of 750,000 – from right around the world.

Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter is genuinely open access as you don’t even need an account to follow the Twitter event content. The BOU knows Twitter inside out having championed its use to promote ornithological research for the last decade and we’ve been running and sponsoring Twitter conferences for some years. Because of this, take-up within our community is very high – 75% of BOU2019 delegates were on Twitter!

Presenters will be provided with extensive guidelines on how to tweet your presentation on Twitter, and you will be able to use either your personal or institute account. If neither of these are available, then we the BOU social media team will be on hand to discuss other options for you to present your work on Twitter.

See also Presenting at a Twitter conference

Scientific Programme Committee

Dr Lynda Donaldson | Chair | RSPB, UK
Dr Katie Beckmann | University of Edinburgh, UK
Dr Victoria Franks | University of Chester, UK
Dr Kevin Wood | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, UK & BOU Meetings Committee

Images
Common Crane (top banner) | Zeynel Cebeci CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
North Island Robin / Toutouwai (top small) | JJ Harrison CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons
White-tailed Eagle (bottom) | Yathin S Krishnappa CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons