A collaborative conservation effort is giving a small, isolated population of Florida scrub-jays a stronger chance at long-term survival. Conservation partners and The Mosaic Company have successfully relocated 48 federally threatened Florida scrub-jays to Wingate Creek State Park in Manatee County. The first-of-its-kind effort brings together young birds from three distinct Florida populations to increase genetic diversity and improve the species’ long-term viability.
The project brought together The Mosaic Company, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Verdantas, the University of Central Florida and Archbold Biological Station. Manatee County, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and regional land managers also helped prepare and maintain suitable habitat.
Found nowhere else on Earth, Florida scrub-jays depend entirely on Florida’s increasingly limited scrub habitat. Development and habitat fragmentation have reduced and isolated suitable areas, leaving smaller populations at greater risk of decline and local extinction.
The relocated birds came from Archbold Biological Station, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Duette Preserve. Researchers focused on young birds entering their first breeding season, giving them an opportunity to establish territories, select mates and integrate into the new population.
The effort builds on more than 25 years of habitat restoration and management in Manatee County, along with decades of research and monitoring across the scrub-jay’s range.
Early results are encouraging. All 48 birds survived the initial translocation period, and monitoring shows they have established territories throughout Wingate Creek State Park and formed 11 family groups. Several pairs have already begun nesting. Several relocated birds have also dispersed into surrounding scrub habitats and interacted with nearby Florida scrub-jay populations, an early indication that the new genetics could become integrated throughout the broader regional population.
“At Mosaic, environmental stewardship means taking a long-term view of the landscapes we manage and the species that depend on them,” said Dr. Raoul Boughton. “The early success of this translocation reflects more than 25 years of studying and monitoring efforts to grow the regional Florida scrub-jay population. Insights from translocations conducted between 2003 and 2010 helped us refine our approach, while genetic diversity studies showed there was even more we could do to support the species’ recovery.”
Before the translocation, the regional population that includes Wingate Creek State Park supported 56 breeding pairs. Researchers estimate the project could add up to 12 new breeding pairs over the next three years, with additional pairs potentially forming as birds disperse throughout the region.
