Regional-scale marine conservation through multi-territory tracking of frigatebirds - DPLUS097 (2019-2022)
This Darwin Plus-funded project was a partnership between the University of Liverpool, all five of the Caribbean’s UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs; Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands), nearby Bermuda, and a regional conservation organisation - BirdsCaribbean. The project was developed in response to recognition that effective protection of marine and coastal environments in the Caribbean UKOTs relies on increased multilateral management cooperation and transboundary working. It employed spatial datasets from multiple populations of foraging magnificent frigatebirds to understand connectivity between island ecosystems in the Caribbean, and encouraged multi-territory management discussions and actions amongst its collaborators. A range of miniaturized biologgers were used to track the movements of frigatebirds as they traversed the oceans in search of food. Tracking data were then used to build predictive habitat models to identify habitat preferences, and marine and coastal hotspots of relevance to multiple populations (map on left shows an example prediction map estimating the probability of presence of birds during the peak breeding season). |
Assessment and conservation actions for Cayman Islands seabird populations - DPLUS044 (2016-2019)
This project provided essential information on the at-sea distributions, ecology and status of resident seabird populations on the Cayman Islands, including red-footed boobies, brown boobies, frigatebirds and white-tailed tropicbirds. A combination of animal-borne tracking techniques and intrinsic biogeochemical markers were used to provide new insights into habitat use, foraging strategies and dietary habitats of seabirds. Population monitoring schemes were developed using drones and ground-transect methods, and information on breeding phenology and predation rates was collected at colonies. Together, these strands of data are helping to inform National conservation management strategies in this UKOT. The project was managed by the Cayman Islands Government's Department of Environment, in partnership with the Universities of Liverpool and Exeter, and National Trust of the Cayman Islands. Project twitter feed = @CaymanSeabirds. |
Using Seabirds for Caribbean Marine Planning - DPLUS007 (2013-2016)
This two year (2013-2016) Darwin Plus-funded project aimed to (1) identify key feeding areas of seabirds using GPS technology (2) Establish and support long-term monitoring strategies in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands and (3) Identify current and future threats facing seabird populations in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. The project was managed by the University of Liverpool in partnership with the Anguilla National Trust, Jost Van Dykes Preservation Society, National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The outputs from this project will feed into future sustainable marine spatial planning in the UK Caribbean overseas territories. To date, over 200 seabirds representing globally and regionally important populations breeding in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands have been tracked using GPS technology to determine key foraging areas and relate these to habitat and environmental variables and potential threats within the region |
Example foraging trip of a red-footed boobyThis example track was collected with an archival GPS logger that recorded the bird's location every 30 seconds, from the time it left the colony to the time of return. This species travels over impressive areas of the Caribbean, and engages in intriguing foraging behaviour! We have collected an impressive amount of data from breeding populations of boobies and magnificent frigatebirds from multiple islands, and this information is being used to identify ecologically important areas for protection at sea, as well as to understand how seabirds use the marine and coastal environment. New insights into their behaviour and ecology will help us to better identify the main threats to their populations, and predict their responses to future environmental change.
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