Mortality incident in northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita in Morocco in May 1996

Touti, J.; Oumellouk, Fatima; Bowden, Christopher G. R.; Kirkwood, James; Smith, Kristin

doi:10.1017/s0030605300030428

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The sharp decrease in numbers of breeding pairs at PNSM in 1997 appears to have resulted from the mortality incident in May 1996 (Touti et al . 1999), and even by 1999 breeding numbers had not recovered to their high level of 1996.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Counts at the colonies suggested that a total of 38 full‐grown birds were lost from the population during this short period. In spite of intensive veterinary investigations in Morocco and the UK the cause of the incident was never determined although, if only by elimination of all other likely causes, avian botulism or an obscure virus remain possibilities (Touti et al . 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…comm.). The IUCN listing as ‘critical’ (BirdLife International 2000) is based on the sharp decline in 1996 when there was an unexplained mortality incident (Touti et al . 1999), and on the very small area of the actual breeding sites.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The status and recent breeding performance of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita population on the Atlantic coast of Morocco

Bowden

Aghnaj

Smith

et al. 2003

Ibis

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The main wild population of the Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita breeds on the Atlantic coast of Morocco in the Agadir region. This paper describes the numbers of breeding pairs over the last two decades, the recent breeding performance, the causes of egg and chick losses and their conservation implications. Since 1980 there has been no overall decline in numbers with, over the last 5 years, 59–74 pairs breeding and a peak prebreeding population of around 220 birds. In contrast with the now extinct Northern Bald Ibis populations in Turkey and elsewhere in Morocco, the birds are present in the Agadir region throughout the year and do not appear to migrate from the area outside the breeding season. Breeding performance is highly variable from one year to the next but does not appear to be related to rainfall in the vicinity of the colonies as has been reported elsewhere. It is suggested that coastal fogs in this region may buffer the adverse impacts of low rainfall and may in part account for the year‐round residency of the birds. The main causes of breeding failures have been loss of eggs to predators and, most importantly, poor chick survival as a result of starvation and predation. Conservation action to date has focused on reducing the negative influences on breeding success but it is recognized that for such a long‐lived bird adult survival is also likely to be an important limiting factor on the population size.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The status and recent breeding performance of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita population on the Atlantic coast of Morocco

Bowden

Aghnaj

Smith

et al. 2003

Ibis

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“…The number of breeding pairs (Oubrou and El Bekkay 2016) increased steadily from 65 pairs in 1994 to 116 in 2015, which is the maximum number of breeding pairs since 1994. However, two massive declines interrupted this increase, one in 1997 following a severe mortality incident in May 1996 with an unknown cause that reduced the number of breeding pairs by 18 (Touti et al 1999), and one in 2012 with a reduction by more than 40 breeding pairs. The reason for this later decline is also not clear.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita in Morocco since 1900: Analysis of ecological requirements

Schenker¹,

Cahenzli

Gutbrod

et al. 2019

Bird Conservation International

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SummaryThe Northern Bald Ibis (NBI) Geronticus eremita, is an ‘Endangered’ bird species of which only very few wild breeding colonies have survived along the Atlantic coast of south-west Morocco. This paper analyses ecological conditions of the 72 breeding sites of the NBI that have been known since 1900 in Morocco. Characterisation of breeding sites is based on physical criteria (elevation above sea level, geomorphology, mean annual precipitation and types of landscape) as well as land use, vegetation cover, infrastructure and types of settlement within three perimeters (0–1 km, > 1–5 km and > 5–10(20) km) using Google Earth satellite images. Statistical analyses of the number of breeding pairs, fledglings and rainfall during different quarters of the year from 1994 to 2016 in the two remaining breeding sites in Souss-Massa National Park and Tamri showed expected patterns as well as unexpected differences between the two localities. Based on our findings and indications in the literature, we suggest general and specific recommendations for potential future translocation projects of the NBI. Based on the analysis of the 28 breeding colonies existing after 1977, two elements emerge as the most important prerequisites: a low level of disturbances at the breeding sites and adequate feeding areas at a reasonable distance of 5–15 km.

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“…In May 1996 there was a serious mortality incident in PNSM in which 38 Northern Bald Ibis either died or disappeared (Touti et al . 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The provision of supplementary fresh water improves the breeding success of the globally threatened Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita

Smith

Aghnaj

Bekkay

et al. 2008

Ibis

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The Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita is a globally threatened species with its main remaining world population breeding in an area of sea cliffs and coastal semi‐desert steppe near Agadir in southern Morocco. Between 1998 and 2002, we showed experimentally that the small‐scale provision of fresh water near the breeding colonies led to an increase in the productivity of the birds. The increase was greatest in years with low natural rainfall but was positive in all years tested. The supplementary fresh water appears to help buffer productivity against the impacts of low rainfall and its provision is now part of the ongoing conservation measures for this species.

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Mortality incident in northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita in Morocco in May 1996

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

The status and recent breeding performance of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita population on the Atlantic coast of Morocco

The status and recent breeding performance of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita population on the Atlantic coast of Morocco

The Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita in Morocco since 1900: Analysis of ecological requirements

The provision of supplementary fresh water improves the breeding success of the globally threatened Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita

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