40% of Young Jays Breed
Just 6 months after a large-scale translocation, 4 of 10 one-year-old Florida scrub-jay pairs attempted to nest, a 160-fold increase over typical rates.
In a surprising turn of events, 40% of newly formed pairs of one-year-old Florida scrub-jays have attempted to breed after a large-scale translocation to a new site. This is a significant increase from the typical rate of less than 0.25% of recorded nesting attempts involving pairs of one-year-old birds across six decades of monitoring at Archbold Biological Station.
The translocation project, led by Raoul Boughton, senior manager of ecology and wildlife at the Mosaic Company, involved the movement of 48 Florida scrub-jays to a new recipient site in 2025. The translocated birds were enough to fill the site to its estimated carrying capacity, and all 48 birds were hatched in 2025.
Typically, Florida scrub-jays do not become breeders until they are 2 or 3 years old. However, in this case, four of the 10 newly formed pairs of one-year-old birds attempted to nest at the recipient site, just six months after the translocation.
The project is part of regional recovery efforts that began in the late 1990s through mitigation efforts led by the Mosaic Company. The current recovery effort is a collaboration between the Mosaic Company, Archbold Biological Station, and the University of Central Florida, with Lauren Deaner and Sahas Barve serving as co-principal investigators.
## Why it matters The observation of the birds' breeding behavior is significant because it suggests that the translocation project may be having a positive impact on the population's recovery. The introduction of new genetic material to the population could help increase genetic diversity and improve the health and viability of the imperiled species. The project's findings will contribute to the understanding of the effects of large-scale translocation on population recovery and the role of genetic rescue in conservation efforts.
The Florida scrub-jay is a species that has been the focus of conservation efforts for nearly two decades. The species' population has been declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and conservation efforts have been underway to protect and restore its habitat. The translocation project is an important part of these efforts, and the observation of the birds' breeding behavior is a promising sign for the species' recovery.
