Reintroducing species to their former habitats is a common conservation strategy, but the success of such programs can be hard to gauge without an appropriate monitoring program. The ability to effectively monitor the reintroduced population in the short and medium term is essential to assess the success of the founding population, as well as provide learnings for the species management and future conservation programs. This case study outlines how an integrated monitoring program was designed to track the progress an Eastern Bristlebird reintroduction project at Wilsons Promontory National Park in south-eastern Australia.
The Eastern Bristlebird is a cryptic species that can be difficult to monitor in low densities. By using a combination of VHF telemetry, automated acoustic monitoring, call playback and visual observations we were able to effectively understand the survivorship, dispersal rate, site fidelity and habitat preference of released founders. This three-year program used information gained from each release to inform adaptive management of the program and select future release sites.
Our results indicate that the translocated birds from year one and two had high survival rates, showed moderately high site fidelity, and demonstrated preferences for certain habitat types. These findings suggest that the rigorous site selection protocol developed was successful. This case study also outlines how the initial monitoring program will be transitioned into a long term one, using solar acoustic recorders, passive listening, replicable transects, and genetic analysis. The results of the study will contribute to the development of more effective monitoring protocols for future reintroduction programs.