Translocation digest: March 2014

News:

Reintroduction experiments shed light on habitat requirements of marsh sandwort Arenaria paludicola in California, US.
http://www.sciencecodex.com/reintroduction_experiments_give_new_hope_for_a_plant_on_the_brink_of_extinction-129882

When Rewilding isn't mad: rewilding the Chilean espinal with reintroduced guanaco.
http://theconversation.com/when-rewilding-isnt-mad-guanacos-can-transform-the-espinal-of-chile-24248

Panther enthusiasts convene to discuss reintroduction to north Florida.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2014/florida-panther-03-21-2014.html

Pacific fishers planned for release in Mount Rainier National Park, US, this autumn.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/03/23/3546334/mount-rainier-park-biologist-hopes.html

Paddlefish reintroduction at Big Cypress Bayou, US.
http://collinsacademy.com/paddlefish-reintroduction/

Wolf top dog in BBC Countryfile reintroduction poll, UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-26616451

Retuerta horses to be released in western Iberia, Spain, as part of rewilding project.

http://www.dw.de/rare-horses-reintroduced-to-the-wild-in-spain/a-17175148

One of only two Irish-bred white tailed eagles found shot in Tipperary.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/one-of-only-two-irish-bred-white-tailed-eagles-shot-and-killed-1.1713647

Cougars recolonizing historic range post-release are encountering human-related threats.

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/6226/20140303/cougars-recolonizing-historic-range-face-new-human-threats.htm

Steller's eider may be reintroduced to Alaska

http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1410stellers_eider_may_be_reintroduced

Publications:

BONEBRAKE, T. C., SYPHARD, A. D., FRANKLIN, J., ANDERSON, K. E., AKÇAKAYA, H. R., MIZEREK, T., WINCHELL, C. and REGAN, H. M. (2014), Fire Management, Managed Relocation, and Land Conservation Options for Long-Lived Obligate Seeding Plants under Global Changes in Climate, Urbanization, and Fire Regime. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12253

Clayton, J. A., Pavey, C. R., Vernes, K. and Tighe, M. (2014), Review and analysis of Australian macropod translocations 1969–2006. Mammal Review, 44: 109–123. doi: 10.1111/mam.12020

Davidson, A. D., Friggens, M. T., Shoemaker, K. T., Hayes, C. L., Erz, J. and Duran, R. (2014), Population dynamics of reintroduced Gunnison's Prairie dogs in the southern portion of their range. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 78: 429–439. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.681

Evans, M. L., Wilke, N. F., O'Reilly, P. T. and Fleming, I. A. (2014), Transgenerational effects of parental rearing environment influence the survivorship of captive-born offspring in the wild. Conservation Letters. doi: 10.1111/conl.12092

Hunter, E. A. and Gibbs, J. P. (2014), Densities of Ecological Replacement Herbivores Required to Restore Plant Communities: A Case Study of Giant Tortoises on Pinta Island, Galápagos. Restoration Ecology, 22: 248–256. doi: 10.1111/rec.12055

Lerp, H., Plath, M., Wronski, T., Bärmann, E. V., Malczyk, A., Resch, R.-R., Streit, B. and Pfenninger, M. (2014), Utility of island populations in re-introduction programmes – relationships between Arabian gazelles (Gazella arabica) from the Farasan Archipelago and endangered mainland populations. Molecular Ecology, 23: 1910–1922. doi: 10.1111/mec.12694

MILLER, K. A., BELL, T. P. and GERMANO, J. M. (2014), Understanding Publication Bias in Reintroduction Biology by Assessing Translocations of New Zealand's Herpetofauna. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12254

Translocation digest: February 2014

News:

Financial problems associated with relocation of local human communities in Madhya Pradesh, India, threatens proposed Cheetah translocation.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-cheetah-reintroduction-nauradehi-wildlife-sanctuary-madhya-pradesh/1/340619.html

Mammal Society urges beaver reintroduction as part of flood management in the UK uplands.
http://www.smallholder.co.uk/news/10983329.Bring_back_beavers_to_stop_flooding__urges_Mammal_Society/?ref=nt

Northumberland National Park, UK, to consider reintroduction of beaver and pine marten.
http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/local-news/all-news/beavers-could-be-reintroduced-to-national-park-1-3293593

Third phase of elk reintroduction to go ahead in Virginia, US.
http://www.leesburgtoday.com/more_a/middleburg_life/believe-it-or-not-elk-in-virginia/article_4b47c656-903a-11e3-af6b-001a4bcf887a.html

IUCN Reintroduction Case Studies published
http://wildlifenews.co.uk/2014/global-re-intorductions-case-studies-published/

Arizona (US) Fish and Wildlife officials to change management of desert bighorn introduction after losing 13 of 31 translocated animals.
http://kjzz.org/content/20802/arizona-game-and-fish-make-adjustments-bighorn-sheep-reintroduction

Yurok Tribe hopes California condors can be reintroduced in Klamath River Basin

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140221/LIFE/402210306

US Columbia River Tribes and Canadian First Nation work with governmental agencies to plan fish pass construction and reintroduction of migratory fish.

http://www.celp.org/2014/02/21/fish-passage-and-reintroduction-into-the-us-canadian-upper-columbia-river/

Publications:

Cromsigt, J. P. G. M., te Beest, M. (2014), Restoration of a megaherbivore: landscape-level impacts of white rhinoceros in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Journal of Ecology, 102: 566–575. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12218

GRANGE, Z. L., VAN ANDEL, M., FRENCH, N. P. and GARTRELL, B. D. (2014), Network Analysis of Translocated Takahe Populations to Identify Disease Surveillance Targets. Conservation Biology, 28: 518–528. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12178

OLDS, A. D., CONNOLLY, R. M., PITT, K. A., MAXWELL, P. S., ASWANI, S. and ALBERT, S. (2014), Incorporating Surrogate Species and Seascape Connectivity to Improve Marine Conservation Outcomes. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12242

Mckelvey, K. S., Aubry, K. B., Anderson, N. J., Clevenger, A. P., Copeland, J. P., Heinemeyer, K. S., Inman, R. M., Squires, J. R., Waller, J. S., Pilgrim, K. L. and Schwartz, M. K. (2014), Recovery of wolverines in the Western United States: Recent extirpation and recolonization or range retraction and expansion?. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 78: 325–334. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.649

Seddon, P.J., Moehrenschlager A. & Ewen J. (2014). Reintroducing resurrected species: selecting DeExtinction candidates TREE 29 (3): 140–147.

Translocation digest: December 2013

Projects:

Salmon reintroduction to Canadian Columbia River recommended ...Revelstoke Times Review Salmon migrating upstream in the Bonneville Dam fish ladder. Reintroduction of salmon to the Canadian Columbia River has emerged as an issue in ... See all stories on this topic »
Salmon reintroduction emerges as CRT negotiation issueArrow Lakes News If all goes according to Bill Green's plan, the first reintroduced Columbia River salmon will cross the U.S.-Canada border in 2016, 78 years after the ... See all stories on this topic » 'Rare' Lizard juniper plant reintroduction hope by conservationistsBBC News Conservationists hope to save an "extremely rare" plant which is only found in the wild in the UK in one valley in Cornwall. The team from the Eden ... See all stories on this topic » Idaho's version of “reindeer” more elusive than everThe Spokesman Review (blog) Habitat changes over the past 100 years have continued to limit the success of the cariboureintroduction. A 2012 survey turned up only 27 animals in ... See all stories on this topic » It's no to reintroducing white tigers in MPHindu Business Line The National Tiger Conservation Authority has refused to give its nod forreintroduction of white tigers in Madhya Pradesh saying they have no ... See all stories on this topic » Hindu Business Line Black-footed ferret population recovery plan includes re-introduction ...Topeka Capital Journal The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan would reintroduce ferrets in new areas while officials work more closely with private landowners to avoid a ... See all stories on this topic » San Francisco Chronicle 10 yrs of Black Rhino re-introductionZambia Daily Mail (blog) Simply put, the 10th anniversary of the re-introduction of the black rhino to the North Luangwa National Park recorded a good feedback from the ... See all stories on this topic » Red-legged frogs may hop again soon in the Santa Monica MountainsLos Angeles Times ... biologists start alerting curious visitors to keep their distance from the first red-legged frogreintroduction effort ever attempted in Southern California. See all stories on this topic » State to proceed with Madison bighorn sheep reintroductionMontana Standard With Thursday's approval from the Fish & Wildlife Commission, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will move forward with the reintroduction of bighorn sheep to ... See all stories on this topic » Victoria to consider reintroduction of alpine cattle grazingThe Guardian The Victorian government says it will consider the controversialreintroduction of cattle grazing in the state's alpine regions if given the go-ahead by federal ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian Reintroducing eagles to California's Channel IslandsTri-City Weekly It was 1979, when then-Humboldt State University undergraduate Garcelon proposedreintroducing Bald eagles to the islands. While the raptor had previously ... See all stories on this topic » Ratty returns to riverbank after absence of a decadeNorth Devon Journal A much loved animal which has become extinct in a huge tract of the South West is beingreintroduced – Martin Hesp went to Bude Marsh to find out more. See all stories on this topic » Boehle column: Reintroducing American chestnut to the ...Zanesville Times Recorder Be part of the reintroduction of what was once a major species throughout the ... Estimates are that reintroduction could take decades or even centuries, with ... See all stories on this topic » Publications:

ASLAN, C. E., ZAVALETA, E. S., TERSHY, B., CROLL, D. and ROBICHAUX, R. H. (2014), Imperfect Replacement of Native Species by Non-Native Species as Pollinators of Endemic Hawaiian Plants. Conservation Biology, 28: 478–488. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12193

de Avelar Azeredo, R. M. and Simpson, J. G. P. (2014), Rearing the Extinct in the Wild Alagoas curassow Pauxi mitu for future reintroduction programmes. International Zoo Yearbook, 48: 29–38. doi: 10.1111/izy.12047

Liu, S. C., Gillespie, J., Atchison, N. and Andrew, P. (2014), The recovery programme for the Regent honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia: an example of conservation collaboration in Australia. International Zoo Yearbook, 48: 83–91. doi: 10.1111/izy.12040

Raigoza Figueras, R. (2014), Scarlet macaw Ara macao cyanoptera conservation programme in Mexico. International Zoo Yearbook, 48: 48–60. doi: 10.1111/izy.12049

Translocation digest: July 2013

Projects:

Free State's first wild cheetah in 100 years
News24
"This reintroduction marks an extremely important moment in our battle to save the Cheetah from extinction. The reintroduction is the culmination of years of work and the building of great relationships and we are extremely excited to be returning this ...

Volunteer to report wild turkey sightings
WDEL 1150AM
This reintroduction resulted in today's 5,000 wild turkeys in Delaware, which are crucial to the annual turkey hunting season. The information gathered by volunteers will help track wild turkey health, distribution and reproductive success. If you spot ...

First Killer Whale Reintroduced to Wild Has Baby National Geographic The only killer whale known to be put back into the wild after human intervention was spotted with her first baby last week. In 2002, a young killer whale named Springer was reintroduced to her pod in northern Vancouver Island (map), Canada, after she ... See all stories on this topic »

Osprey chicks to be reintroduced to the wild Dubuque Telegraph Herald Nature lovers and the simply curious can witness the reintroduction of osprey chicks Wednesday morning. The chicks will be reintroduced as part of the Mud Lake Osprey Project at 9 a.m. at Mud Lake Park, according to a news release. Translocating animals outside home turf is high risk ... Times of India AHMEDABAD: The latest guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on translocation of wildlife could prove to be a major ... Park life: The Cairngorms' lost beasts BBC News But beavers are just one animal on a list of 22 creatures assessed for potential reintroduction, or targeted conservation efforts, to Britain's largest national park. Wildlife on the list were either were wiped out because of over-hunting or ... See all stories on this topic » First Persian leopard cubs born in Russia for 50 years Phys.Org The Persian Leopard Reintroduction Program is run by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation with participation of the Sochi National Park, Caucasus Nature Reserve, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, ... See all stories on this topic » Endangered minnow being reintroduced in MissouriKansas City Star A once abundant minnow that's been listed as federally endangered for 15 years and is now “in serious trouble” in Missouri is being reintroduced into waterways ... See all stories on this topic »

Publications:

Converse, S. J., Moore, C. T. and Armstrong, D. P. (2013), Demographics of reintroduced populations: Estimation, modeling, and decision analysis. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 77: 1081–1093. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.590

GRIFFITHS, C. J., ZUËL, N., JONES, C. G., AHAMUD, Z. and HARRIS, S. (2013), Assessing the Potential to Restore Historic Grazing Ecosystems with Tortoise Ecological Replacements. Conservation Biology, 27: 690–700. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12087

HUNTER, E. A., GIBBS, J. P., CAYOT, L. J. and TAPIA, W. (2013), Equivalency of Galápagos Giant Tortoises Used as Ecological Replacement Species to Restore Ecosystem Functions. Conservation Biology, 27: 701–709. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12038

Reynolds, M. H., Weiser, E., Jamieson, I. and Hatfield, J. S. (2013), Demographic variation, reintroduction, and persistence of an island duck (Anas laysanensis). The Journal of Wildlife Management, 77: 1094–1103. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.582

Seidel, S. A., Comer, C. E., Conway, W. C., Deyoung, R. W., Hardin, J. B. and Calkins, G. E. (2013), Influence of translocations on eastern wild turkey population genetics in Texas. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 77: 1221–1231. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.575

Sites, J. W. (2013), Extinction, reintroduction, and restoration of a lizard meta-population equilibrium in the missouri ozarks. Molecular Ecology, 22: 3653–3655. doi: 10.1111/mec.12357

SMYSER, T. J., JOHNSON, S. A., PAGE, L. K., HUDSON, C. M. and RHODES, O. E. (2013), Use of Experimental Translocations of Allegheny Woodrat to Decipher Causal Agents of Decline. Conservation Biology, 27: 752–762. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12064

Translocation digest - June 2013

Translocation projects:

Endangered beetle reintroduced in SW Mo.
Seattle Post Intelligencer
EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — The Saint Louis Zoo and other conservation groups have been working to restore the population of an endangered beetle in southwest Missouri, and the effort appears successful so far.

In the News: Scarlet macaw reintroduced to parts of Mexico
ARKive (blog)
The first macaw reintroduction took place in April, with a second small flock scheduled for release at the end of June. After this, small groups of 10 to 12 birds at a time will be released until a quota of 60 to 70 for this year is met.

Mountain lion population could pose a threat to reintroduction of bighorns in ...
The Republic
TUCSON, Arizona — An already "robust" population of mountain lions in the Catalina Mountains appears to be increasing — and that could pose a threat to a planned reintroduction of bighorn sheep in the range this fall.

New swan chicks at Lincoln Park Zoo soon to go wild
Chicago Tribune
After about four months growing up with their protective parents, the six endangered chicks will be released into the wild as part of a trumpeter-swan reintroduction and recovery program the zoo has been active in for more than a decade, officials said ...

First translocated rhino gives birth in Manas National Park
Indian Express
Mainao, the first rhino that was translocated to the Manas National Park in western ... and conservation staff working towards bringing Manas back to shape.

4 of 8 California condors died from lead poisoning
NorthJersey.com
Officials with the Peregrine Fund's condor reintroduction project say 72 condors currently fly in a range that stretches from Arizona's Grand Canyon to southern Utah's Zion National Park. There were just 22 condors when a program was started in 1996 to ...

Wild lynx to be brought back to British countryside
Telegraph.co.uk
Senior biologists and cat specialists are this week due to apply for a license to reintroduce the cats, which can grow up to four feet in length, into an area of forest on the west coast of Scotland. Under the plans, which have been backed by officials ...

Can't send lions to gun country: International Union for Conservation of ... Economic Times Besides, the Supreme Court verdict on translocation states, "Re-introduction of Asiatic lion, needless to say, should be in accordance with the guidelines issued by IUCN and with the active participation of experts in the field of re-introduction of ...

Publications:

Benito-Garzón, M., Ha-Duong, M., Frascaria-Lacoste, N. and Fernández-Manjarrés, J. (2013), Habitat Restoration and Climate Change: Dealing with Climate Variability, Incomplete Data, and Management Decisions with Tree Translocations. Restoration Ecology. doi: 10.1111/rec.12032

Hedrick, P. W. (2013), Conservation genetics and the persistence and translocation of small populations: bighorn sheep populations as examples. Animal Conservation. doi: 10.1111/acv.12064

Lawes, T. J., Anthony, R. G., Robinson, W. D., Forbes, J. T. and Lorton, G. A. (2013), Movements and settlement site selection of pygmy rabbits after experimental translocation. The Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.572

McCleery, R., Oli, M. K., Hostetler, J. A., Karmacharya, B., Greene, D., Winchester, C., Gore, J., Sneckenberger, S., Castleberry, S. B. and Mengak, M. T. (2013), Are declines of an endangered mammal predation-driven, and can a captive-breeding and release program aid their recovery?. Journal of Zoology. doi: 10.1111/jzo.12046

Christensen, P. and McDonald, T. (2013), Reintroductions and controlling feral predators: Interview with Per Christensen. Ecological Management & Restoration, 14: 93–100. doi: 10.1111/emr.12044

Harris, S., Arnall, S., Byrne, M., Coates, D., Hayward, M., Martin, T., Mitchell, N. and Garnett, S. (2013), Whose backyard? Some precautions in choosing recipient sites for assisted colonisation of Australian plants and animals. Ecological Management & Restoration, 14: 106–111. doi: 10.1111/emr.12041

WOODFORD, J. E., MACFARLAND, D. M. and WORLAND, M. (2013), Movement, survival, and home range size of translocated american martens (Martes americana) in wisconsin. Wildlife Society Bulletin. doi: 10.1002/wsb.291

SMYSER, T. J., JOHNSON, S. A., KRISTEN PAGE, L., HUDSON, C. M. and RHODES, O. E. (2013), Use of Experimental Translocations of Allegheny Woodrat to Decipher Causal Agents of Decline. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12064

Runge, M. C. (2013), Active adaptive management for reintroduction of an animal population. The Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.571

COLLAZO, J. A., FACKLER, P. L., PACIFICI, K., WHITE, T. H., LLERANDI-ROMAN, I. and DINSMORE, S. J. (2013), Optimal allocation of captive-reared Puerto Rican parrots: Decisions when divergent dynamics characterize managed populations. The Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.569

GRIFFITHS, C. J., ZUËL, N., JONES, C. G., AHAMUD, Z. and HARRIS, S. (2013), Assessing the Potential to Restore Historic Grazing Ecosystems with Tortoise Ecological Replacements. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12087

IUCN/SSC Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations - final version released

Just a quick update to let everyone know that the fully formatted version of the IUCN/SSC Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations (including annexes) has now been released and you can get a copy by emailing me: s.e.dalrymple@gmail.com or following this link:
http://www.issg.org/pdf/publications/RSG_ISSG-Reintroduction-Guidelines-2013.pdf

It's the same in content as the 'interim' version which I know many of you have seen but the final release looks nicer and has the full citation details:

IUCN/SSC (2013). Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations. Version 1.0. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission, viiii + 57 pp.  ISBN: 978-2-8317-1609-1

Translocation digest - April 2013

SA, Botswana in rhino translocation deal
South Africa.info
The translocation was facilitated in partnership with conservation organisation Rhino Force and funded by insurance administrator Motorite Administrators.

&Beyond translocate six white rhino to Okavango Delta
Bizcommunity.com
Translocations are fundamental to secure the survival of endangered species. This project is led by &Beyond's conservation team and aims to increase ...

Kihansi Toads Reintroduced in the Wilderness
AllAfrica.com
Kilombero — TANZANIA has gone down in history as the world's first country to successfullyreintroduce into the wild amphibians that had been in danger of extinction. This has been revealed during the release of the second batch of 1,500 Kihansi Spray ...

The Reintroduction of Wolves | Skeptoid
Out of the efforts of these latter a federal wolf reintroduction program was born, the future of which has been the subject of a long and bitter debate in the ...

Reintroduction of Wolves Remains Contentious - Arizona Public Media
A recovery effort has been underway for decades and reached a milestone in 1998 when wolves werereintroduced into their historic territories in Arizona and ...

Conserving the Aplomado falcon
The Northern Aplomado Falcon is a beautiful raptor with a former range including all of South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. It's also critically endangered. That's why Bill Heinrich, Species Restoration Manager for The Peregrine Fund, is working to restore this species to its former U.S. range.


Publications:

La Haye, M. J. J., Koelewijn, H. P., Siepel, H., Verwimp, N. and Windig, J. (2012). Genetic rescue and the increase of litter size in the recovery breeding program of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in the Netherlands. Relatedness, inbreeding and heritability of litter size in a breeding program of an endangered rodent. Hereditas, 149: 207–216. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5223.2012.02277.x

King, R. S., Trutwin, J. J., Hunter, T. S. and Varner, D. M. (2013), Effects of environmental stressors on nest success of introduced birds. The Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.528

Bell, T. J., Powell, K. I. and Bowles, M. L. (2013), Viability model choice affects projection accuracy and reintroduction decisions. The Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.525

Jachowski, D. S., Slotow, R. and Millspaugh, J. J. (2013), Delayed physiological acclimatization by African elephants following reintroduction. Animal Conservation. doi: 10.1111/acv.12031

HARRINGTON, L. A., MOEHRENSCHLAGER, A., GELLING, M., ATKINSON, R. P. D., HUGHES, J. and MACDONALD, D. W. (2013), Conflicting and Complementary Ethics of Animal Welfare Considerations in Reintroductions. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12021

HUNTER, E. A., GIBBS, J. P., CAYOT, L. J. and TAPIA, W. (2013), Equivalency of Galápagos Giant Tortoises Used as Ecological Replacement Species to Restore Ecosystem Functions. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12038

Reintroduction or ecological replacement? Or both?

Firstly, happy new year and apologies for the break in posts as a result of my baby girl falling ill (she's now better) and Christmas. Normal weekly service will now resume and I have a backlog of posts to bring you of which this is the first.

The idea for this post was prompted by a widely-reported paper on the genetic legacy of Lonesome George, the last known purebred individual of Chelonoidis abingdoni, or Galapagos giant tortoise native to Pinta Island (Edwards et al. 2013, authors webpage here). The discovery of individuals with very similar genetic ancestry on another island (Isabela Island) provides hope that hybrids with C. abingdoni parents could be taken into captive breeding programmes to produce tortoises that might be translocated to 'back' Pinta Island. The authors suggest an interesting strategy of tiered translocation whereby any individuals with a very high genetic similarity to the extinct Pinta Island tortoises are saved for the captive breeding whilst hybrids that are further removed (offspring of hybrids rather than purebreds) are moved directly to Pinta, the former constituting reintroduction albeit with a little genetic mixing, the latter being an example of ecological replacement (see page on definitions). This would be motivated by the need to restore giant tortoises as ecosystem engineers and would hopefully improve the habitat quality prior to release of the 'purer' individuals.

On reading this, I went back to another paper from three years ago (Hansen et al. 2010) in which the authors discuss the pros and cons of a range of translocations of large and giant tortoises. Back then, Lonesome George had mated unsuccessfully with females of a similar subspecies but there was still hope that

Definitions of conservation translocation

This post is just to highlight the fact that I've updated the 'definitions' page on this blog (see top tabs to find the different pages).  Definitions are key to a discipline such as this one, where confusion in terminology generates a host of uncertainties about the motivations, appropriate methods and policy implications for species conservation.  For this reason, the IUCN Task Force charged with revising and expanding the Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations spent a great deal of time scrutinising the definitions and testing their applicability under a range of scenarios and case-studies.

The new definitions for conservation translocations include a shift from 'historic range' to 'indigenous range' and the following interventions:

• Population Restoration - including reinforcement and reintroduction
• Conservation Introduction - including assisted colonisation and ecological replacement

The full Guidelines are available in an interim version just now (please email me if you would like this version) but will be freely available on the IUCN Re-introductions Specialist Group website in the final format soon.  There are also plans underway for translation of the Guidelines into several languages and hard-copies to be made available.