This report summarises the results of a Knowledge Transfer Research Project that was
undertaken by Dr Jane Reid (University of Aberdeen), Professor Pat Monaghan, (University
of Glasgow), Dr Eric and Mrs Sue Bignal (Scottish Chough Study Group) and Dr Davy
McCracken (Scottish Agricultural College). Dr Maria Bogdanova was employed as the postdoctoral
research assistant on the project. The work was carried out in partnership with
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Funding was provided by a Knowledge Transfer Grant from the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC, PIs P. Monaghan & J. Reid), with matching partnership funding
and in-kind support from SNH and RSPB.
The overall aims of the project were to develop the scientific understanding of the population
ecology of choughs on Islay, and to use this understanding to inform the development of
appropriate conservation strategies and policies. The project built on existing long-term
research on Islay’s choughs. It involved further analysis of long-term data, plus two years of
intensive fieldwork designed to answer specific questions. The work aimed primarily to
understand the ecology of choughs in their sub-adult years (ie, from fledging to breeding
age). Survival from fledging to breeding is a key factor in causing population change.
However, relatively little was previously known about the behaviour and ecology of choughs
during this time.
This report provides an overview of the results of the scientific study and focuses on
presenting the scientific evidence on which resulting recommendations for chough
conservation management on Islay are based. The report is written with the intention of
presenting the results of the data analyses, and the rationale underlying those analyses, in a
way that is accessible to non-specialists. Further details of analyses and technicalities are
provided in published, peer-reviewed papers and/or are available on request.
The report provides information that will be of use to policy makers and conservation
practitioners, and also highlights topics where further research is required before informed
management decisions can be taken