-some of the goals of monitoring are following the population trends
(positive or negative), watching how much certain threats (as well as defining
threats) affect the populations, and seeing how well our action against
threats help/hurt the populations being monitored
-why birds?
+the idea of "saving birds" can motivate the public
. . . public sees, admires certain species, and so there is more support/financing
to support them
+birds of all kinds live in ecosystems around the
world (people are more familiar with them, then -- let's say -- a clam)
+birds are very sensitive to change (side note from
me: so are frogs because they live their lives in water/on land and eggs
are vulnerable because they are suspended in water (chemical levels affect
frog development), and on another side note from me: birds are sensitive
to fumes, gases, chemical pollutants : for example: miner's used to bring
parakeets down in mine shafts because if the parakeet died, then the level
of carbon monoxide were dangerously high)
-Example where birds were used to monitor changes: DDT levels in
the 1950s and 1960s killed many Peregrine Falcons (just one of the species
that suffered) because it built up in concentration as it climbed up the
food chain; according to the article, "as a result, in the 1970's some countries
restricted or banned the use of DDT, and consequently experienced a rebound
in raptor numbers and a strong decrease in human contamination." ("Monitoring
and Indicators", 2004)
Source:
Birdlife International (2004) "Monitoring and Indicators." <http://www.birdlife.net/action/science/indicators/index.html>
"Birds as biodiversity indicator for sustainablility: a pan-European
strategy"
an email I sent to Dr. Ian Burfield:
Dear Dr. Burfield,
My name is Allison Brown, and I am a student at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. I am currently involved in a class which seeks to
develop new strategies for the preservation of the Galapagos. One
of our objectives is to identify indicators that allow us to monitor biodiversity.
As I was researching, I found a number of articles through Birdlife International's
website, and began to understand the value of studying birds to watch for
(and possibly prevent) severe changes in the environment and its natural
resources.
Part of our goal is also to create or enhance monitoring techniques
To begin to do this, we need to understand what kind of methods are already
in place to record population sizes and trends. How exactly are the
birds counted, and trends established? What methods seem to be most
accurate? most time-consuming? And what birds seem to be most
valuable as indicators -- water or land birds, common or endangered (if
there is a preference)? Are there any counting systems which you would
like to see improved or made more efficient?
On behalf of Team 5 of Las Tortugas, thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Allison Brown
(tor5@mit.edu)
In reference to this Source:
RSPB (a partner of
Birdlife International in the UK) April 2003. "Birds as biodiversity indicator
for sustainablility: a pan-European strategy." <http://www.birdlife.net/action/science/indicators/eur_biodiversity_indicators.pdf>
"Species Are Becoming More Threatened"
-(much information in article is based on onformation from the Red List
Index for Critically Endangered birds)
-suggestions are being made to monitor the ecosystem through birds because
they easier (for a number of reason) to monitor then other animals in the
ecosystem such as fish or insects
-birds are also "fragile" enough so that they are strongly effected by
changes in the environement -- they live around water, mountains, tundras,
deserts . . . many ecosystems around the world
-"For the period 2000–2004, nearly half of threatened species (45% of 859)
were judged by species experts to have deteriorated in terms of population
or range size (box 2)."
-birds are a good way to monitor the environment worldwide -- but what
about the Galapagos?
-below numbered data is taken quoted directly from (2)
1. The world's birds are getting more threatened
Red List index based on numbers in categories from 1988–2004
2. Most threatened birds are deteriorating in status
Percentages in categories whose status is better/same/worse from expert
assessment
3. Birds have deteriorated in status faster in some regions than others
Red List Indices for birds in different regions
4. Birds have deteriorated in status across all major habitat types
Red List Indices for birds in different habitats
5. Seabirds have deteriorated dramatically compared to other groups
Seabirds have deteriorated severely since the first global assessment
of all birds in 1998
-Threats (many of them dealing with people): destruction of habitat, depletion
of natural resources (over-fishing, over-farming), pollution (air, water,
land, chemicals/diseases carried through other species), invasive species,
parasites/new strains of diseases
-also problems with concentration of resources around the globe; wealthy
versus poor, and commercial versus subsistance use of resources -- what
about people who endanger species, but depend upon that way of life for
survival?
-as Birdlife points out, resources are limited, so it is essential that
people monitor species/changes that give the most information or simply put:
the best indicators.
-politics also must be considered when forming any possible solution/plan
for conservation
-inform public, and get the world involved (that is ideal -- but we can
do the best we can)
This organization (Birdlife International) deals birds world-wide, but
I believe some of their ideas can be used in how we look at the Galapagos.
They mention how hard it is to monitor the environment, and ideally
we would want to monitor everything, but since that isn't possible, we have
to settle for the next best: monitor species indicators, or species that will
show us when something goes wrong.
I think that using birds as a way to the ecosystem is particularly relevant
to the Galapagos Islands. They are "islands" after all, habitats surrounded
by water. Seabirds and shorebirds come and go, following migratory
paths or just feeding a few miles away from their permanent island residence.
The Galapagos also has an amazing variety of terrestrial birds -- finches,
warblers, owls, and doves(to name a few). Darwin's finches, for example,
occupy an incredible range of environments. Monitoring the finches
themselves could help us understand/protect the ecosystem. The This
organization (Birdlife International) deals birds world-wide, but I believe
some of their ideas can be used in how we look at the Galapagos. They
mention how hard it is to monitor the environment, and ideally we would want
to monitor everything, but since that isn't possible, we have to settle for
the next best: monitor species indicators, or species that will show us when
something goes wrong. finches are already well-known in the general public
through Charles Darwin, and could easily draw attention (possibly funding,
too) if they were being threatened with the possibility of extinction. Already,
the Waved Albatross (an endemic species on Espanola) is relatively well-known
on the islands themselves and recognized also by many eager birdwatchers
who come to the islands. Frigatebirds, flamingos, penguins, and similar
birds also draw attention (unique, colorful, strange birds), and people
tend to want to protect these "unique" and "strange" species -- at least
they seem more inclined to protect them versus let's say an endangered shrub.
Getting the public "behind" the project is important for success and
almost essential as far as funding goes.
-Side Note: I also sent an e-mail to "who is may concern" to Birdlife
International's Contact E-mail address -- birdlife@birdlife.org (in the United
Kingdom) and birdlife@birdlife.org.ec
(in Ecuador)
Sources:
(1)Birdlife International.(2004) Species Are Becoming More Threatened
<http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sowb/state/16.html>
-- box: 2 -- <http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sowb/case_studies/p16-17.pdf>
Pressure: What
Birds Tell Us About Problems <http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sowb/pressure/index.html>
Response:
What Birds Tell Us About Solutions <http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sowb/response/index.html>
(2)Birdlife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world.
Barcelona and Cambridge, UK; Lynx Edicions and Birdlife International
"Conservación del Zamarrito Pechinegro, Ecuador" -Note: This article was in Spanish, and my ability to comprehend
Spanish is limited, however, from what I did understand, it appears that
Ecuador already has a branch of Birdlife International working on the mainland
-they are working on saving the "Zamarrito Pechinegro" which is a bird
of some sort (Black-Breasted Puffleg)
-Anyway, I found it particularly interesting that Ecuador already has made
some steps in conserving this particular bird, and so there might be a very
real possibility that this organization would consider doing some research/promoting
conservation on the Galapagos! That would be exciting!
-I e-mailed the Ecuadorian connection to Birdlife International
- Robert Williams is a man working down there who I might try to e-mail
(bsf@birdlife.org.ec)
Source:
Birdlife International. (2004) Conservacion del Zamarrito Pechinegro,
Ecuador. <http://www.birdlife.org/action/ground/zamarrito_pechinegro/index.html>
"Save the Albatross"(this information can also be found in
"Continuing Research" on my homepage)
According to the article, "longlining is the single greatest threat to
the world's seabirds." Many seabirds, such as the Albatross (including
Espanola's Waved Albatross) are effected by long-line fishing. The birds
often fly just behind the longlining boats and try and snag the bait on the
hooks as it is "released." Longlining is very popular now-a-days because
it costs less than regular fishing methods (nets, crates). Among other
problems dealing with long- problem is that they try and eat the bait, but
get caught on the hooks which then drag them underwater until they drown.
Once the lines are "set," they sink, and the birds can't get to them.
Possible Solutions presented by the article (low cost, too!) on how to
minimize seabird deaths:
-"Towing bird-scaring (or tori) lines behind the vessel. These have plastic
streamers tied to them that flap in the wind and scare birds away from the
baited fishing line."
-"Using an underwater setting tube. These set the fishing line underwater
out of reach of the birds."
-"Tying enough weights to the fishing line so that it sinks more quickly
out of reach of the birds"
-"Using thawed not frozen bait as it sinks more quickly."
-"Dying the bait blue. This puts birds off eating it."
-"Setting lines at night. Most albatrosses feed mainly by day."
(all above solutions are directly from Birdlife International (2004))
The above measures are low-cost as well as favorable to the fishermen;
the less bait that gets eaten by the birds, the greater chance of catching
more fish.
The Agreement for Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (CAPA) is an
agreement to reduce seabird deaths due to longline fishing. "Five countries
have both signed and ratified the Agreement (Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand,
Spain and South Africa), guaranteeing its entry into force on 1 February
2004." This fact may be of particular importance to us because it means that
Ecuador has shown its willingness to compromise when important environmental
issues are put forth to be solved.
The ideal goal for our group would be to find a feasible, cost-effective
solution, and explore all the positive and negative aspects. Translation:
if we do all the research, then the plan has a greater chance of being taken
seriously, and possibly address on the governmental level (or even international
level).
Source:
Birdlife International. (2004) Save the Albatross. <http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/save_the_albatross/index.html>
Downloaded October 2, 2004
"Parasites Pose New Threat to Darwin's Finches"
-larvae of a (invasive species!) fly have been found in bird nesting sites
-- infects chicks of Darwin's finches
-List of Darwin's finches:
Medium Ground-finch Geospiza fortis Small Ground-finch Geospiza fuliginosa Common Cactus-finch Geospiza scandens Large Tree-finch Camarhynchus psittacula Small Tree-finch Camarhynchus parvulus Woodpecker Finch Camarhynchus pallidus Warbler Finch Certhidia olivacea Mangrove Finch Camarhynchus heliobates Large-Ground-finch Geospiza magnirostris Sharp-beaked Ground-finch Geospiza difficilis Large Cactus-finch Geospiza conirostris Vegetarian Finch Camarhynchus crassirostris Medium Tree-finch Camarhynchus pauper
Source: Birdlife International (2004). Parasites Pose New Threat to
Darwin's Finches.
-article can be found:<http://www.birdlife.org/news/pr/2002/11/709.html>
"Monitoring Sea birds"
-lava gull populations are decreasing (endangered/threatened species!)
-Galapagos penguins and flightless comorants are caught and tagged/marked
with microchips (possibly used to put infotmation -- beak size, body weight,
overall length -- info used later on)
-inhabitants (people) are allowed to fish within the Marine Reserve, however,
there are certain areas where even they are not allowed to go -- "NO-TAKE-ZONES"
-a possible goal (of the Swiss Association for Friends of the Galapagos Islands)
was to make the the habitats where these birds live "no take zones"
Sources:
Swiss Association of Friends of the Galapagos Islands. "Monitoring Sea Birds."
(2001) <http://www.galapagos-ch.org/projects/monitoring/finalE.html>
"Distribution and Population dynamics of the Galapagos-albatross"
-endemic to Espanola, "population of "about twelve pairs" (1) -- "ring" birds
to record numbers -- "since 1966, more than 8,000 albatross of Espanola have
been ringed" (1), and "ringing" is continuing to help monitor species' success/improvement
(we need to know whether or not the population trend is increasing/decreasing)
-threats -- impact of tourism, avian diseases, longline fishing
-Paste: "The study also indicates a very low reproduction rate: a couple
which lasts for 30 years, has only two chicks. During these years, the female
lays about 25 eggs; with a survival of only 8%, the successful breeding rate
is therefore extremely low. A population where the reproduction rate is so
low and the survival rate of the chicks so unsure, increases very slowly,
if it increases at all." (1)
-Galapagos tortoise populations are very similiar and they (albatross also)
might take a very long time (a century, even!) to double in size
Side note: Tell Biopreserve to look at this site: < http://whc.unesco.org/archive/ecu-gal.pdf
>
-- "The National Congress; The Plenary
Session of the Legislative Commissions"