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James Lazell - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Body Size and Timing of Reproduction in the Highly Endangered Stout Iguana, Cyclura pinguis, in the British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Journal of Science, 2007Co-Authors: Gad Perry, James Lazell, Kate R. Levering, Numi MitchellAbstract:Abstract. The stout iguana, Cyclura pinguis (also known as the Anegada iguana), survives only in the British Virgin Islands and the total population is believed to be about 250 individuals. The sole remaining natural population, on Anegada, is declining in both numbers and area inhabited. Several extra-limital populations have been established, and here we report on body size and timing of egg-laying in the Guana Island population, which is thriving. Egg laying occurs in June and July, and hatchlings emerge in September and October. For hatchlings, mean snout-vent length was 108 mm, mean undamaged tail length was 197 mm, and mean mass was 60 g. Growth of hatchlings is rapid. Overall, the relationship between log mass and log body length is statistically significant. Comparisons to data published for Anegada animals show that iguanas of similar length weigh more on Guana, suggesting possible food limitation in the Anegada population. Until progress is made towards establishing a national park on Anegada, r...
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the red eared slider trachemys scripta elegans in the British Virgin Islands
Applied Herpetology, 2007Co-Authors: Gad Perry, James Lazell, Jennifer L Owen, Clive Petrovic, Jim EgelhoffAbstract:Gad Perry1,2, Jennifer L. Owen1, Clive Petrovic3, James Lazell4, Jim Egelhoff5 1 Department of Natural Resource Management, Texas Tech University, Box 42125, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2125, USA 2 Corresponding author; e-mail: Gad.Perry@TTU.edu 3 H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Tortola, British Virgin Islands 4 The Conservation Agency, 6 Swinburne St., Jamestown, Rhode Island 02835, USA 5 BVI Pest Control, P.O. Box 1109, Virgin Gorda, BVI
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insular and migrant species longevity records and new species records on guana island British Virgin Islands
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2006Co-Authors: Clint W Boal, Fred Sibley, Tracy S Estabrook, James LazellAbstract:Abstract We conducted mist netting each October from 1994 to 2004 on Guana Island, British Virgin Islands, and recorded bird sightings to develop a more complete inventory of the island's resident and migrant species. During our study, we recorded four new species for the British Virgin Islands: Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia; 1996), Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera; 1997), Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus; 2000), and Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus; 2004). Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) was the most frequently captured Neotropical migrant landbird, despite only being first detected in the region in 1989. Captures and detections of other Neotropical migrant landbirds suggest that many species may be more common in the region than previously believed, or, as speculated by other researchers, that migrant routes may be shifting eastward due to habitat degradation on western Caribbean Islands. We also used recapture data to establish longevity records of resident species...
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evaporative water loss in insular populations of anolis cristatellus reptilia sauria in the British Virgin Islands iii response to the end of drought and a common garden experiment1
Biotropica, 2000Co-Authors: Gad Perry, Razi Dmiel, James LazellAbstract:Evaporative water loss in Anolis cristatellus from the British Virgin Islands was negatively correlated with the aridity of their habitats. Phenotypic plasticity and/or differential mortality of less well-adapted individuals allowed rapid changes within populations. Here we report the results of two studies intended to differentiate between the two processes. We took advantage of the end of a major drought to study the rapidity with which populations recovered from unusually dry conditions. Population values changed rapidly from those measured in the past. There was no correlation between long-term habitat aridity and measured water-loss rate, but the multiyear correlation between aridity and skin resistance to water loss persisted. We also conducted a common garden experiment in which animals from the wettest and driest habitats were housed under intermediate conditions for one month. We detected no change in skin resistance to water loss in any of the three populations we studied; however, the mass of lizards from Sage Mountain increased significantly during the experiment, and their water loss per unit mass decreased significantly. These results support the existence of both phenotypic plasticity and genetic differences resulting from rapid selection within populations. The magnitude and relative importance of the two, however, remain to be determined.
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evaporative water loss in insular populations of the anolis cristatellus group reptilia sauria in the British Virgin Islands ii the effects of drought1
Biotropica, 1999Co-Authors: Gad Perry, Razi Dmiel, James LazellAbstract:Previous work has shown that water loss in some populations of Anolis cristatellus from the British Virgin Islands is closely tied to the conditions available on the Islands they inhabit. This manifested itself in a strong correlation between habitat aridity and several water loss rate parameters. Here we report on a similar study conducted in the same locations in 1994, a year of extreme drought. We hypothesized that lizards caught at the height of the drought will experience lower rates of water loss than those measured during a normal year. Our findings show that in 1994, as in 1993, habitat aridity and water loss parameters were strongly correlated. Also as before, the Guana Island population of A. cristatellus displayed higher resistance to water loss than expected by the island's aridity. However, a striking change occurred within populations. All were at least as good at retaining water (measured as integumentary resistance to water loss, R) as in 1993, and some were over 3.5 times better. Existing evidence is insufficient to determine whether these changes were the result of phenotypic plasticity or attributable to differential mortality of nonresistant individuals.
Gad Perry - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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demography of the puerto rican racer borikenophis portoricensis squamata dipsadidae on guana island British Virgin Islands
Journal of Herpetology, 2017Co-Authors: Eric T Hileman, Gad Perry, Robert Powell, Krista Mougey, Richard Thomas, Robert W HendersonAbstract:Abstract Guana is a 297-ha island in the British Virgin Islands, a private wildlife sanctuary where human activity is largely restricted to small areas associated with an upscale resort hotel. Guana is free of mongooses and sustains a population of racers (Borikenophis portoricensis; Dipsadidae). Between 2001 and 2012 we marked B. portoricensis with Trovan passive integrated transponders and recorded 394 captures of 367 unique adults (males = 167; females = 200; sex ratio of 0.8 : 1) in an effective trapping area of 25.8 ha. Using contemporary capture–recapture models, we estimated annual adult apparent survival, abundance, and realized population growth. We detected no difference in apparent adult annual survival of males (0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34–0.66) and females (0.50, 95% CI = 0.33–0.66). Recapture probabilities of males (0.09, 95% CI = 0.04–0.18) and females (0.08, 95% CI = 0.04–0.16) were similarly indistinguishable. Annual estimates of adult abundance ranged from 368 to 540, but c...
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first record of osteopilus septentrionalis on guana island British Virgin Islands
Applied Herpetology, 2009Co-Authors: Gad PerryAbstract:Cuban treefrogs are native to Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas, but are increasingly recorded from other locations (Lever, 2003). The species was first collected in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 1990 (Owen et al., 2005) and has since spread, with about one new island record per year in the BVI (Owen et al., 2005, 2006; Perry and Gerber, 2006) and new localities in the United States Virgin Islands (Waddle et al., 2005; Platenberg and Boulon, 2006; Perry and Platenberg, 2007). Perry and Gerber (2006) mentioned that the species had been sighted on Guana Island, BVI, but did not provide any information that would allow the significance or circumstances of the event to be evaluated. Those details are provided herein. At about 2000 h on 21 October 2005, I collected an adult male (SVL = 72 mm) with small nuptial pads, foraging at a night light within the hotel complex on Guana Island. Guana Island is a private wildlife preserve. In the 12 months prior to the reported event, the small hotel on the island had imported relatively large quantities of construction materials and ornamental plants. However, hotel staff had made extensive attempts to prevent the arrival of the Cuban treefrog and other invasive species. These include manual searches of all arriving plants and other materials while still on the barges bringing them to the island, and on-island fumigation within an enclosure into which arriving materials and engine exhaust were introduced (Perry et al., 2006). No additional Cuban treefrogs have been seen on Guana since removal of that individual, despite extensive searches in 2006 and 2007. Guana Island offers RA P.1 (1-2) APHE:m v 1.24 Prn:7/01/2009; 14:03 aphe1161 by:Daiva p. 1
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first record of the frog eleutherodactylus lentus in the British Virgin Islands conservation implications of native or introduced status
Applied Herpetology, 2009Co-Authors: Gad PerryAbstract:Eleutherodactylus lentus, thought to be endemic to the US Virgin Islands, is now found on Jost Van Dyke in the nearby British Virgin Islands, where previous surveys have failed to note it. This poses an unusual conundrum. If the new record represents human-aided dispersal, then control actions may be appropriate, even though the species is categorized as at risk in its native range. However, it is possible that this population is native to Jost Van Dyke, and was not previously recorded because of methodological issues. In that case, protection would be warranted. Interviews with researchers and locals suggest the former scenario is more likely.
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Body Size and Timing of Reproduction in the Highly Endangered Stout Iguana, Cyclura pinguis, in the British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Journal of Science, 2007Co-Authors: Gad Perry, James Lazell, Kate R. Levering, Numi MitchellAbstract:Abstract. The stout iguana, Cyclura pinguis (also known as the Anegada iguana), survives only in the British Virgin Islands and the total population is believed to be about 250 individuals. The sole remaining natural population, on Anegada, is declining in both numbers and area inhabited. Several extra-limital populations have been established, and here we report on body size and timing of egg-laying in the Guana Island population, which is thriving. Egg laying occurs in June and July, and hatchlings emerge in September and October. For hatchlings, mean snout-vent length was 108 mm, mean undamaged tail length was 197 mm, and mean mass was 60 g. Growth of hatchlings is rapid. Overall, the relationship between log mass and log body length is statistically significant. Comparisons to data published for Anegada animals show that iguanas of similar length weigh more on Guana, suggesting possible food limitation in the Anegada population. Until progress is made towards establishing a national park on Anegada, r...
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the red eared slider trachemys scripta elegans in the British Virgin Islands
Applied Herpetology, 2007Co-Authors: Gad Perry, James Lazell, Jennifer L Owen, Clive Petrovic, Jim EgelhoffAbstract:Gad Perry1,2, Jennifer L. Owen1, Clive Petrovic3, James Lazell4, Jim Egelhoff5 1 Department of Natural Resource Management, Texas Tech University, Box 42125, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2125, USA 2 Corresponding author; e-mail: Gad.Perry@TTU.edu 3 H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Tortola, British Virgin Islands 4 The Conservation Agency, 6 Swinburne St., Jamestown, Rhode Island 02835, USA 5 BVI Pest Control, P.O. Box 1109, Virgin Gorda, BVI
Brendan J. Godley - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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high rates of growth recorded for hawksbill sea turtles in anegada British Virgin Islands
Ecology and Evolution, 2014Co-Authors: Lucy A Hawkes, Shannon Gore, Andrew Mcgowan, Annette C. Broderick, Damon Wheatley, James R White, Matthew J Witt, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:Management of species of conservation concern requires knowledge of demographic parameters, such as rates of recruitment, survival, and growth. In the Caribbean, hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) have been historically exploited in huge numbers to satisfy trade in their shells and meat. In the present study, we estimated growth rate of juvenile hawksbill turtles around Anegada, British Virgin Islands, using capture–mark–recapture of 59 turtles over periods of up to 649 days. Turtles were recaptured up to six times, having moved up to 5.9 km from the release location. Across all sizes, turtles grew at an average rate of 9.3 cm year−1 (range 2.3–20.3 cm year−1), and gained mass at an average of 3.9 kg year−1 (range 850 g–16.1 kg year−1). Carapace length was a significant predictor of growth rate and mass gain, but there was no relationship between either variable and sea surface temperature. These are among the fastest rates of growth reported for this species, with seven turtles growing at a rate that would increase their body size by more than half per year (51–69% increase in body length). This study also demonstrates the importance of shallow water reef systems for the developmental habitat for juvenile hawksbill turtles. Although growth rates for posthatching turtles in the pelagic, and turtles larger than 61 cm, are not known for this population, the implications of this study are that Caribbean hawksbill turtles in some areas may reach body sizes suggesting sexual maturity in less time than previously considered.
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down but not out marine turtles of the British Virgin Islands
Animal Conservation, 2008Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Shannon Gore, Annette C. Broderick, G Frett, M Hastings, A Pickering, Damon Wheatley, James R White, Matthew J Witt, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:We present the result of a multi-annual assessment of the spatio-temporal patterns of marine turtle nesting, and foraging in the Eastern Caribbean archipelago state of the British Virgin Islands. Despite exploitation over several centuries, three species (leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, green Chelonia mydas and hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata turtles) are still nesting and green and hawksbill turtles are found foraging. Leatherback turtles are showing signs of a recovery co-incident with the implementation of an effective moratorium on adult take. When compared with historical data we demonstrate an apparent reduction in nesting levels in green and hawksbill turtles and a nesting range contraction in green turtles. Despite current conservation steps, it will be a decade or more before evidence of recovery can be expected in the two hard-shelled species. Coupled with wider biological knowledge, our findings offer insights into the relative resilience of the different species to exploitation pressure. Additionally, the intra-annual temporal and spatial spread of nesting demonstrated underlines the difficulties of monitoring such a multi-species assemblage in such a diffuse archipelago.
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a rigorous assessment of the avifauna of a small caribbean island a case study in anegada British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Journal of Science, 2007Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Annette C. Broderick, Geoff M. Hilton, Nancy K. Woodfield, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:The avifauna of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has received little attention from researchers. The lack of baseline information is therefore a major hindrance to the construction of management plans. Here we present detailed monitoring data on the species composition and numbers of each species for the island of Anegada, BVI. We surveyed the birds of Anegada between November 2003 and March 2005 utilising a combination of coastal transects, wetland bird counts, point counts, and species-specific survey methods for nocturnal species. A total of 99 different species were recorded, with a large increase in the number of species and number of individuals centred around peak migration in September. Although there is a depauperate terrestrial bird community consisting of predominately generalist species, it holds important populations of regional avifauna. For example, it hosts five regionally important breeding seabird colonies and its wetlands provide an important stop-over and over-wintering site for many species of shorebirds and waterbirds. In addition, the Eastern salt ponds are also the only breeding site for the greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber, within the territory. We discuss our findings within the current framework of regional conservation and provide recommendations for the implementation of a territory wide monitoring program as a first step towards meeting the UK's commitments under several multilateral environmental agreements.
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Breeding seabirds in the British Virgin Islands
Endangered Species Research, 2006Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Shannon Gore, Annette C. Broderick, Geoff M. Hilton, Nancy K. Woodfield, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:Caribbean seabirds are subject to numerous threats, and population levels are thought to be at a fraction of historical levels. Despite being a well-known taxonomic group there is still a paucity of data for most seabird species on many of the Caribbean Islands. We carried out detailed surveys of the seabird breeding populations in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) during the breeding seasons of 2004 and 2005. We surveyed 42 different Islands and cays over the 2 yr with 60 and 63% of these having at least one breeding seabird species in 2004 and 2005, respectively. A total of 15 spe- cies of breeding seabird was recorded, one of which, the gull-billed tern Sterna nilotica, was pre- viously thought to have been extirpated. Two species, roseate tern Sterna dougallii and magnificent frigatebird Fregata magnificens, had globally significant colonies in the BVI and a further 8 species had a regionally significant population in the BVI. We discuss our findings within a global and regional conservation context and provide recommendations for ensuring the continued existence of BVI seabird populations.
Bill Maurer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a fish story rethinking globalization on Virgin gorda British Virgin Islands
American Ethnologist, 2000Co-Authors: Bill MaurerAbstract:Recent discussions of globalization leave the nature of movement and of the moving objects in transnational flows relatively unexamined. Incorporating historical and ethnographic material from the British Virgin Islands, I use the analogy of the critique of the study of kinship, which highlights the assumptions of person and relation built into kinship theory, to shed light on the assumptions of property and the metaphysics of movement built into globalization research, [globalization, property, kinship theory, capitalism, Caribbean]
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a fish story rethinking globalization on Virgin gorda British Virgin Islands escholarship
2000Co-Authors: Bill MaurerAbstract:Recent discussions of globalization leave the nature of movement and of the moving objects in transnational flows relatively unexamined. Incorporating historical and ethnographic material from the British Virgin Islands, I use the analogy of the critique of the study of kinship, which highlights the assumptions of person and relation built into kinship theory, to shed light on the assumptions of property and the metaphysics of movement built into globalization research.
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structural inequalities in the global legal system globalization and its discontents essays on the new mobility of people and money recharting the caribbean land law and citizenship in the British Virgin Islands globalisation human rights and labour law in pacific asia
Law & Society Review, 2000Co-Authors: Eve Dariansmith, Bill Maurer, Saskia Sassen, Anthony WoodiwissAbstract:Selon l'A., opposer le phenomene de la mondialisation a la politique des etats-nations est un faux probleme. Dans de nombreux domaines, les politiques mondiales ne sont qu'une extension de celles des etats-nations, sur des spheres d'influence et a des rythmes differents, mais reliees principalement a l'Occident, et en particulier aux Etats-Unis. Pour demontrer la distance existant entre les politiques mondiales et les preoccupations du peuple, l'A. examine la condition des immigres, ce qui souleve les questions de citoyennete, de conditions de travail et de droits de l'homme. Dans cette perspective, les relations entre le capitalisme mondial et la normativite en matiere legale sont examinees a travers l'analyse de l'ouvrage de Saskia Sassen Globalization and Its Discontents: Essays on the New Mobility of People and Money. Cette approche est completee par l'ouvrage : Recharting the Carribean : Land, Law and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands de Bill Maurer. Ces perspectives sont ensuite nuancees par l'analyse de l'ouvrage Globalization, Human Rights, and Labour Law in Pacific Asia d'Anthony Woodiwiss, qui suggere que les normes occidentales devront composer avec d'autres standards culturels
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recharting the caribbean land law and citizenship in the British Virgin Islands
1997Co-Authors: Bill MaurerAbstract:If, as many cultural critics have asserted, the world is becoming more like the Caribbean, then the task of charting what we mean by "the Caribbean" is an urgent one. This careful study of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) calls attention to the ways in which ideas about nature and choice have come to justify a social order in which half the population is deemed not to belong and is denied legal rights.The BVI, one of Britain's few remaining colonial possessions, has become an important destination point for Caribbean migrants and a center for international financial services. Bill Maurer traces how the BVI came to be defined, legally and popularly, as a territorial entity, and how BVIslanders came to define themselves as a "people" sharing a "culture." He argues that law has been central to the construction of ethnic, racial, and cultural differences that create boundaries between peoples and places and that facilitate the exploitation of labor, the exclusion of people from the political process, and the globalization of capital."Recharting the Caribbean" will be important reading for anthropologist, legal scholars, and historians of colonial discourse.Bill Maurer is Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California at Irvine.
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law writing immigration and globalization in the British Virgin Islands
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 1995Co-Authors: Bill MaurerAbstract:In this article Mr. Bill Maurer addresses a fundamental tension at work in the British Virgin Islands: while British Virgin Islanders (BVIslanders) proudly term themselves a "law and order" people and seek to distinguish themselves from other Caribbean peoples, the territory remains as wedded as ever to its British rulers and the West. Mr. Maurer first notes that when a colonial people begins to view itself as essentially different from its rulers, it may begin a concomitant move toward self-rule. He shows that while the BVI exhibits many attributes of such a territory, BVIslanders consider their ties to Britain a critical element of their uniqueness and thus self-rule is never seriously discussed. The author illustrates this paradox by describing the passage and effects of the BVI's International Business Companies Ordinance, a law that established the BVI as a tax haven. He argues that while BVIslanders are proud to call the law their first truly local one, in fact the local legislature was forced as a result of this law to submit to increased foreign regulatory scrutiny and to enact recommendations set out in a Coopers and Lybrand study commissioned by the British. He next points out that while BVIslanders support most aspects of the Ordinance, they have sharply criticized the implementation of a Crown-appointed board designed to oversee the dependent territories' financial services sector and guard against drug money laundering and other illicit activities. Mr. Maurer views this controversy as further evidence of the BVI's search for a national identity within the locally-accepted confines of colonial rule.
Andrew Mcgowan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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high rates of growth recorded for hawksbill sea turtles in anegada British Virgin Islands
Ecology and Evolution, 2014Co-Authors: Lucy A Hawkes, Shannon Gore, Andrew Mcgowan, Annette C. Broderick, Damon Wheatley, James R White, Matthew J Witt, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:Management of species of conservation concern requires knowledge of demographic parameters, such as rates of recruitment, survival, and growth. In the Caribbean, hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) have been historically exploited in huge numbers to satisfy trade in their shells and meat. In the present study, we estimated growth rate of juvenile hawksbill turtles around Anegada, British Virgin Islands, using capture–mark–recapture of 59 turtles over periods of up to 649 days. Turtles were recaptured up to six times, having moved up to 5.9 km from the release location. Across all sizes, turtles grew at an average rate of 9.3 cm year−1 (range 2.3–20.3 cm year−1), and gained mass at an average of 3.9 kg year−1 (range 850 g–16.1 kg year−1). Carapace length was a significant predictor of growth rate and mass gain, but there was no relationship between either variable and sea surface temperature. These are among the fastest rates of growth reported for this species, with seven turtles growing at a rate that would increase their body size by more than half per year (51–69% increase in body length). This study also demonstrates the importance of shallow water reef systems for the developmental habitat for juvenile hawksbill turtles. Although growth rates for posthatching turtles in the pelagic, and turtles larger than 61 cm, are not known for this population, the implications of this study are that Caribbean hawksbill turtles in some areas may reach body sizes suggesting sexual maturity in less time than previously considered.
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down but not out marine turtles of the British Virgin Islands
Animal Conservation, 2008Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Shannon Gore, Annette C. Broderick, G Frett, M Hastings, A Pickering, Damon Wheatley, James R White, Matthew J Witt, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:We present the result of a multi-annual assessment of the spatio-temporal patterns of marine turtle nesting, and foraging in the Eastern Caribbean archipelago state of the British Virgin Islands. Despite exploitation over several centuries, three species (leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, green Chelonia mydas and hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata turtles) are still nesting and green and hawksbill turtles are found foraging. Leatherback turtles are showing signs of a recovery co-incident with the implementation of an effective moratorium on adult take. When compared with historical data we demonstrate an apparent reduction in nesting levels in green and hawksbill turtles and a nesting range contraction in green turtles. Despite current conservation steps, it will be a decade or more before evidence of recovery can be expected in the two hard-shelled species. Coupled with wider biological knowledge, our findings offer insights into the relative resilience of the different species to exploitation pressure. Additionally, the intra-annual temporal and spatial spread of nesting demonstrated underlines the difficulties of monitoring such a multi-species assemblage in such a diffuse archipelago.
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a rigorous assessment of the avifauna of a small caribbean island a case study in anegada British Virgin Islands
Caribbean Journal of Science, 2007Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Annette C. Broderick, Geoff M. Hilton, Nancy K. Woodfield, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:The avifauna of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has received little attention from researchers. The lack of baseline information is therefore a major hindrance to the construction of management plans. Here we present detailed monitoring data on the species composition and numbers of each species for the island of Anegada, BVI. We surveyed the birds of Anegada between November 2003 and March 2005 utilising a combination of coastal transects, wetland bird counts, point counts, and species-specific survey methods for nocturnal species. A total of 99 different species were recorded, with a large increase in the number of species and number of individuals centred around peak migration in September. Although there is a depauperate terrestrial bird community consisting of predominately generalist species, it holds important populations of regional avifauna. For example, it hosts five regionally important breeding seabird colonies and its wetlands provide an important stop-over and over-wintering site for many species of shorebirds and waterbirds. In addition, the Eastern salt ponds are also the only breeding site for the greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber, within the territory. We discuss our findings within the current framework of regional conservation and provide recommendations for the implementation of a territory wide monitoring program as a first step towards meeting the UK's commitments under several multilateral environmental agreements.
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Breeding seabirds in the British Virgin Islands
Endangered Species Research, 2006Co-Authors: Andrew Mcgowan, Shannon Gore, Annette C. Broderick, Geoff M. Hilton, Nancy K. Woodfield, Brendan J. GodleyAbstract:Caribbean seabirds are subject to numerous threats, and population levels are thought to be at a fraction of historical levels. Despite being a well-known taxonomic group there is still a paucity of data for most seabird species on many of the Caribbean Islands. We carried out detailed surveys of the seabird breeding populations in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) during the breeding seasons of 2004 and 2005. We surveyed 42 different Islands and cays over the 2 yr with 60 and 63% of these having at least one breeding seabird species in 2004 and 2005, respectively. A total of 15 spe- cies of breeding seabird was recorded, one of which, the gull-billed tern Sterna nilotica, was pre- viously thought to have been extirpated. Two species, roseate tern Sterna dougallii and magnificent frigatebird Fregata magnificens, had globally significant colonies in the BVI and a further 8 species had a regionally significant population in the BVI. We discuss our findings within a global and regional conservation context and provide recommendations for ensuring the continued existence of BVI seabird populations.