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Seabird Nest Monitoring in the Lesser Antilles
Partners: EPIC, Anguilla National Trust, Anguilla Ministry of the
Environment, St. Martin Nature Reserve, Sint Maarten Nature Foundation, Saba
Conservation Effort, St. Eustatius National Park, St. Kitts Department of
Environment, Nevis Department of Environment, and Dominica Department of
Fisheries and Wildlife.
Project Dates: December 2000 - Present. Long-term project.
Current Project Location: Anguilla, Dog Island, Prickly Pear,
Anguillita, Scrub Island, St. Martin, Tintamarre, Saba, St. Eustatius, St.
Kitts, Booby Island, Nevis, and Dominica.
Project Description: Census seabird colonies. Monitor nesting
success. Chick provisioning studies. Record predation and disturbance
events.
Focus Species: Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby, Masked Booby,
Magnificent Frigatebird, White-tailed Tropicbird, Red-billed Tropicbird,
Caribbean Brown Pelican, Audubon's Shearwater, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern,
Least Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, and Brown
Noddy.
Project Importance: Increase awareness of local breeding biology for
Caribbean seabird species. Identify threats (development, predation)
to seabird species. Work with local governmental and non-governmental
organizations to create partnerships that will work together in the future
to conserve the Caribbean seabird breeding community.
EPIC has posted our
data on Lesser Antillean seabird colonies to the OBIS online database:
http://seamap.env.duke.edu/datasets/detail/418
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Important Bird Areas (IBA's)
Partners: EPIC and BirdLife
International
Project Location:
Saba: Saba Coastline - globally
significant Red-billed Tropicbird population.
St. Eustatius: Boven Sector
- regionally significant Red-billed Tropicbird population.
St. Kitts: Southeast Peninsula -
regionally significant
Least Tern population
St. Maarten: Ft. Amsterdam - regionally significant Brown
Pelican population.
St. Maarten:
Pelikan Key - regionally significant Brown Pelican and
Royal Tern
St. Martin: Tintamarre Island – regionally significant
Red-billed Tropicbird population.
St. Martin: Grand Etang - regionally significant Least
Tern population Project Importance:
As part of a global
initiative, Birdlife International contracted EPIC to identify potential
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius
and St. Maarten/Martin. For more information on IBAs, visit
http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sites/index.html . |
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Invasive Species Removal
Partners: EPIC, St. Martin Nature Reserve, and Karen
Varnham.
Project Dates: May 2004 - Present;
Long-term Project
Project Location: Tintamarre Island,
St. Martin, French Antilles
Project Description: Eradicate
invasive mammal species on Tintamarre, including rats. Once invasive
species are removed, undergo long-term monitoring.
Project Importance: Tintamarre is home
to nesting seabird colonies of Red-billed Tropicbirds, Audubon's Shearwater,
Bridled Tern, Brown Noddy, and Roseate Tern. Tintamarre may have been home
to a substantial Audubon Shearwater population, but now numbers have dropped
to two known nests. The removal of invasive mammal species will eliminate a
huge threat to these seabird populations. |