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

Smith, Kristin; Aghnaj, Ali; Bekkay, Mohammed El; Oubrou, Widade; Ribi, Mohammed; Armesto, Maria Jimenez; Bowden, Christopher G. R.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2008.00844.x

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We therefore sampled this site and found invertebrate levels in the pitfall traps to be very low compared with the other three sites, but vertebrate encounter rates on the transects somewhat higher (2.01 versus 3.06 km À1 ) but not significantly so. The use of this site was probably more influenced by the presence of water in a nearby reservoir since Northern Bald Ibis is also dependent on a water supply for drinking (Smith et al 2008). It would probably take only small changes in land use or climate to alter the availability of water in the landscape or to accelerate the seasonal decline in prey species and shorten the effective season available to the birds to breed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchiness in prey levels increases vulnerability of Critically Endangered Northern Bald IbisesGeronticus eremitaon their Syrian breeding grounds

Lindsell

Shehab

Anderson

2010

Bird Conservation International

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SummaryA small colony of Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita breeding in the Syrian desert is the only wild remnant of the eastern population of this 'Critically Endangered' species. Since its discovery in 2002, the colony has not increased in size despite being protected on the breeding grounds and exhibiting good productivity until recently. Although it appears that the population is being limited during migration and/or wintering, maintaining maximum breeding productivity is a priority for saving this colony to offset poor survival away from Syria. The ibises have a large home range but forage at a relatively small number of sites within it, despite having access to larger areas of apparently suitable habitat. We sampled potential prey using transects, pitfall traps and searches under stones at sites used by the birds to compare with unused sites. Analysis showed that used sites were twice as rich in vertebrate and invertebrate prey than the surrounding areas. Prey levels halved over the course of the breeding season, but we found that they remained higher in the preferred locations compared with the unused areas. Sites closer to the breeding cliff tended to have lower levels of prey available, which perhaps explained the long commutes that the adults undertook when foraging.This work highlights the vulnerability of the birds at this site. Degradation of the patches they use could reduce food supply below critical levels and alternative sites may be hard for the birds to identify, being relatively scarce. The birds are also vulnerable to shortening of the season in which adequate food is available. There is already little time post-fledging to prepare for migration. Low food availability later in the season makes the birds dependent on key resources found around local reservoirs and these have failed recently. Breeding failures in 2008 and 2009 may have been mitigated by improved feeding conditions on the breeding area. The successful management of the site for ibises should include measures to improve their food security through range management, and possibly reservoir rehabilitation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchiness in prey levels increases vulnerability of Critically Endangered Northern Bald IbisesGeronticus eremitaon their Syrian breeding grounds

Lindsell

Shehab

Anderson

2010

Bird Conservation International

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“…For example, temperature and rainfall during the nesting period have been shown to affect breeding success (Kostrzewa & Kostrzewa 1991, Lloyd 1999, Evans & Bouwman 2000, Morrison & Bolger 2002, Rodríguez & Bustamante 2003, Denac 2006, Novoa et al. 2008, Smith et al. 2008), with rainfall being particularly important in arid areas.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been little consideration of the effect that climate might play in such a within-season decline, with the exception of Paasivaara and Pöysä (2007), who could find no evidence for it -although many studies show that climate can affect breeding success. For example, temperature and rainfall during the nesting period have been shown to affect breeding success (Kostrzewa & Kostrzewa 1991, Lloyd 1999, Evans & Bouwman 2000, Morrison & Bolger 2002, Rodríguez & Bustamante 2003, Denac 2006, Novoa et al 2008, Smith et al 2008, with rainfall being particularly important in arid areas. The role of climate on breeding success may be direct, for example rainfall and cold weather may cause mortality due to the inability of small chicks to thermoregulate (Jovani & Tella 2004), or may be mediated through food availability, where food resources may respond to changes in climate, indirectly causing an effect in the study species (Nilsson & Källander 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

Influence of rainfall on timing and success of reproduction in Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumeniferus

Monadjem

Bamford

2009

Ibis

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A decline in breeding success with later laying dates throughout a nesting season is a widespread phenomenon in species living in environments with distinct seasonality, with evidence that some environmental correlate of timing is at least partly responsible in many species. This correlate is often thought to be food availability, which is often related to climatic factors; however, few studies have examined the role of climate. We studied a breeding colony of Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumeniferus in Southern Africa over five breeding seasons. Timing of breeding was related to rainfall preceding the breeding season. Fecundity (chicks fledged per nest) declined through each season. The probability of an individual hatchling fledging was influenced by rainfall during the hatchling period, temperature during the hatchling period and laying date, three variables that were strongly intercorrelated. To disentangle the three effects, inter‐annual variation in each was compared with the large inter‐annual variation in breeding success, with rainfall providing the greatest explanatory power. Rainfall, which tends to increase through the breeding season, seems to be at least partly responsible for the seasonal decline in breeding success. We were unable to find evidence for the influence of other factors, such as colony size and nest re‐use, known to affect nest success in this and other colonial breeding storks.

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“…In inland Morocco, steep rock faces and valleys with gorges and steep riverbanks are the preferred nesting sites. Water bodies in the vicinity of the breeding colonies obviously favour breeding success (Smith et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Availability of fresh water in the vicinity of the breeding colonies has a positive effect on the breeding success of the NBI (Smith et al 2008). For the 28 breeding colonies still in existence after 1977, potential available fresh water sources within a radius of 15 km around breeding sites were identified, using Google Earth satellite images.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

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

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

Patchiness in prey levels increases vulnerability of Critically Endangered Northern Bald IbisesGeronticus eremitaon their Syrian breeding grounds

Patchiness in prey levels increases vulnerability of Critically Endangered Northern Bald IbisesGeronticus eremitaon their Syrian breeding grounds

Influence of rainfall on timing and success of reproduction in Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumeniferus

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

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