Evaluation of Translocation for the Threatened Florida Scrub-Jay

Abstract

We evaluated translocation as a technique for restoring the Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) to unoccupied portions of its historic range. Prior to the breeding seasons of 1989, 1990, and 1995, we translocated 20 jays (14 nonbreeders, 3 breeding pairs) from Archbold Biological Station in Highlands County to suitable but unoccupied habitat at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Collier County. Nine of the 20 jays disappeared within the first 8 weeks following translocation; 11 jays settled at Rookery Bay. Successful nesting first occurred at Rookery Bay in 1989, and from 1991 through 1997 the population remained relatively stable with 6-10 individuals and 1-3 breeding pairs. Nesting success, juvenile survival, and adult survival of jays in the reintroduced population were all comparable to those of jays at Archbold Biological Station. The sex ratio of the reintroduced population was biased toward males, apparently because of high rates of mortality or emigration by females fledged at Rookery Bay. Overall, our results suggest translocation is a useful management technique for the Florida scrub-jay. However, because of the scarcity of properly managed translocation sites, the initially high rates at which jays emigrate or die following translocation, and the potential effect of translocation on source populations, translocation should not be viewed as an acceptable substitute for the management of existing populations of this threatened species.