Bridging the implementation gap: From predator control to non-lethal impact-based intervention🌏
Through a co-designed experiment with practitioner & community engagement, this study evaluated the effects of diversionary feeding as a non-lethal strategy to reduce predation🧪
doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Check out my BlueSky talk at #BOUatEOU on rewilding
Excited to share my research at #BOUatEOU on breeding failure of tawny owls (Strix aluco) in commercial plantations 🦉🌲
How do owls deal with changing food availability and the return of a new nest predator?
#ornithology #predation #prey-switching
Implimentation has been supported by co-production, engagement, and dissemination through honest advocacy by the research team. However, there has been pushback from supporters of lethal control, likely rooted in land use preferences over evidential support.
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These positive results provide clear evidence that diversionary feeding is an effective tool to reduce the impact of predation on cappercaillie productivity.
Many land managers across the current cappercaillie range in Scotland are now deploying diversionary feeding for predator management.
Using detections from the camera traps, we were able to show that hens in sites with diversionary feeding had a significantly higher chance of having a brood. In turn, increasing chicks per hen (productivity) in September by 130%.
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To assess if the results of this artificial nest study translated to real cappercaillie broods, we trialled novel non-invasive monitoring via camera traps. We were able to identify if a hen had a brood and count how many chicks she had in her brood.
In our first experimental trial of diversionary feeding, we deployed artificial nests in a control and test design. We found that the presence of diversionary feeding reduced artificial nest predation by 83%. Mainly due to reduced pine marten predation.
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Check out my bluesky talk for #BOUatEOU.
We found that diversionary feeding is a suitable impact based tool to reduce conflicts between recovering predators (pine marten) and endangered ground nesting birds (cappercaillie) in Scottish Forests.
🧪🌍🦤🍁
Check out these amazing wildlife images! One of the runners up was a picture from my cappercaillie monitoring! 📸
📝 Are you using multispecies occupancy models to investigate interactions in species occupancy (i.e. co-occurrence)? 🦁🦓
Check out our new paper for advice on the number of sites you need to reliably detect interactions under different scenarios ⬇️
Interestingly, I have noticed a reticence to consider options other than population control when managing invasive species. We wrote about it here academic.oup.com/bioscience/a.... 🌐 #bioinvasions
@lambin-ecology.bsky.social @chrissuthy.bsky.social @kennyafc.bsky.social
New perspective out today in @jappliedecology.bsky.social.
We reflect on co-producing evidence in an effort to bridge the implementation gap, for evidence based, impact focused predator control.
What worked, what didn't and where barriers to implimentation still remain.
You can't win them all... 🧪
My first @uk.theconversation.com article with @jackantbam.bsky.social and @lambin-ecology.bsky.social and @kennyafc.bsky.social
"Surprisingly effective way to save the capercaillie: keep its predators well-fed"
theconversation.com/a-surprising...
Check our @theconversation.com article, alongside @chrissuthy.bsky.social and @lambin-ecology.bsky.social (special mention to @kennyafc.bsky.social). Where we breakdown the entire diversionary feeding project!
@lambin-ecology.bsky.social
@chrissuthy.bsky.social
@kennyafc.bsky.social
@cairngormsconnect.bsky.social
🚨 New publication 📝
Out today in the royal society proceedings B. We find that diversionary feeding boosts productivity of cappercaille from 0.82 to 1.90. Indicating that this impact based method can effectively reduce the influence of predation.
Read all about it here: shorturl.at/QRb76
Check out Jack's new paper!
Diversionary feeding of predators (in this case a Pine Martin) increases the breeding success of Capercaillie, as fewer eggs get stolen
#SciArt
TAKE HOME: We argue, using several strands of evidence, that diversionary feeding is a credible alternative to lethal control of predators and shows promising signs of reversing the decline of the capercaillie in Scotland.
Read the full paper here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 7/7
RESULT: Diversionary feeding increased the number of hens detected with chicks, consistent with our previous work showing a decrease in nest failure. This resulted in productivity (the expected chicks per hen) increasing from 0.82 in unfed sites to 1.9 in fed sites (more than double!). 6/7
HYPOTHESIS: Using a 3-year landscape-scale control-treatment experiment, we predicted that the chicks per hen differed between sites that deployed diversionary feeding and sites that did. 5/7
METHOD: We used #cameratraps on dust baths, natural features used by capercaillie, to detect capercaillie hens and determine whether they had chicks or didn’t have chicks. We used #AI from conservation ai to detect and count hens and broods. 4/7
BACKGROUND: Previously, we found that DF reduced artificial nest depredation, resulting in an 83% increase in nest survival. The big question though was whether this would translate to real birds. 3/7
All research wouldn't be possible without my fantastic co-authors: @lambin-ecology.bsky.social, @chrissuthy.bsky.social and @kennyafc.bsky.social l!! 🙏
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⏰New Research ⏰
We quantified the direct impact of diversionary feeding on capercaillie productivity. We show an increase in the proportion of hen with a brood in DF sites (37% -> 85%) and, as a result, a 131% increase in chicks per hen. Read more here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
1/7
