rsg_book_2013

Birds Sub-Goal 1: To keep acaptive population ofca. 220 ibises with highgenetic diversity forensuring re-introducedindividuals. Sub-Goal 2: To restorethe ecological food webin which crested ibisare positioned ashigher predators andumbrella species, byreducing pesticide orchemical fertilizer in theagricultural ecosystem. Sub-Goal 3: Tomaintain ‘Satoyama’A foraging Ibis (F03) and a working farmerlandscape which will be(April 2011 before planting rice)characterized bysustainable naturalresource management based on the benefits of living in harmony with nature.This kind of landscape is preferable habitat for the crested ibis.Success Indicators Indicator 1: Released individual should be settled on Sado Island, and morethan 60% of individuals should survive until the following year. Indicator 2: Mean annual survival rate of adult birds should be better than71%, which is identical to the Chinese wild population. Indicator 3: Re-introduced birds should produce viable offspring. Reproductivesuccess should exceed 57%, and it will be improved to 67%, which is identicalto the Chinese wild population. Indicator 4: Re-established population should maintain more than 60individuals on Sado Island, which should include viable offspring. Indicator 5: Re-introduced population should be self-sustaining and showgradual increase without releasing any additional birds.Project SummaryFeasibility: The captive breeding program using Japanese origin birds ended infailure when the last bird died in 2003. The captive breeding program has beennow sustained using birds brought to Japan from China since 1999. Japaneseand Chinese populations of the crested ibis have been confirmed to almostidentical by comparing whole mt-DNA sequences (Yamamoto, 2009). The lastcrested ibis inhabited mountain area before extinction (Yamashina & Nakanishi,1983). The previous range is protected as ‘Ko-sado’ National Wildlife Reserve,which is 12,620 ha in area. The ibis foraged loaches, frogs, and invertebrates atterraced paddies and small streams, and nested mainly on pine trees (Yamashina& Nakanishi, 1983). Terraced paddies have been abandoned by populationdecrease and population ageing on Sado Island because there is insufficient59