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A Rigorous Assessment of the Avifauna of a Small Caribbean Island: a Case Study in Anegada, British Virgin Islands

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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, Vol. 43, No. 1, 99-116, 2007 Copyright 2007 College of Arts and Sciences University of Puerto Rico, Mayagu¨ez A Rigorous Assessment of the Avifauna of a Small Caribbean Island: A Case Study in Anegada, British Virgin Islands ANDREW MCGOWAN1*, NANCY K. WOODFIELD2,GEOFF HILTON,ANNETTE C. BRODERICK,1 AND BRENDAN J. GODLEY1 1Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ UK 2BVI National Parks Trust, P.O. Box 860, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands 3Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire,UK *Corresponding Author: Andrew McGowan Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ UK [email protected] ABSTRACT.—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. KEYWORDS.—birds, breeding status, conservation, salt ponds INTRODUCTION Biogeographically, the British Virgin Is- lands (BVI) along with Puerto Rico and the The Caribbean is among the most bio- US Virgin islands (excluding St Croix) form logically diverse regions on the planet and part of the Puerto Rican bank (Figure 1). is considered as one of the most important This geographic feature is one of six pri- biodiversity “hotspots” (Myers et al. 2000). mary Endemic Bird Areas in the insular The insular Caribbean is comprised of three Caribbean and as such is a priority area for main island groups: Bahamas, Greater An- conservation (BirdLife International 2003). tilles, and Lesser Antilles. Considering its The birds of Puerto Rico and the US Vir- relatively small land area, it nonetheless gin islands have been fairly well studied supports large numbers of endemic plant (Robertson 1962; Kepler 1978; Waide 1991; and animal species (Conservation Interna- Latta et al.1995; Zwartjes 2003; Dugger et tional 2005). The birds of the insular Car- al. 2004). By comparison, the bird popula- ibbean, represented by over 600 species tions of the BVI have received little atten- and 160 of these being recorded as en- tion. The published literature on BVI birds demic, are a reasonably well-known and is scant and consists mainly of species visible taxonomic group (Conservation In- sightings recorded during the annual ternational 2005). Christmas Bird Count (National Audubon Society 2002), a locally organised activity that contributes to the USA based National Received January 9 2006; accepted 7 October 2006. Audubon Society scheme. Some early work 99 100 A. MCGOWAN ET AL. FIG. 1. Map of Anegada, British Virgin Islands highlighting the most salient features of the island and the survey areas. by LaBastille and Richmond (1973), Norton MATERIALS AND METHODS (1979, 1981, 1989), and Norton et al. (1989) also consists of species sightings but gives Study site no indication of seasonal variation in spe- cies composition or population sizes. The The island of Anegada (18°30ЈN, only detailed avian research in the BVI has 64°30ЈW) is the second largest island in the been conducted on the privately owned is- BVI archipelago and is the northern-most land of Guana (Mayer and Chipley 1992; and eastern-most island of the Greater An- O’Connell-Rodwell et al. 2004), and like the tilles (Figure 1). It is an emergent coral majority of BVI avian literature, is not limestone platform rising to a maximum al- readily accessible. titude of 8m and is unique in being the only Through utilization of several different non-volcanic island in the territory (BVI survey techniques to assess both habitat 1993). Approximately 38 km2 in area, An- type and the specific bird groups found in egada is mainly covered in xerophytic these habitats, we present detailed moni- scrub-like vegetation (Beard 1949) as well toring data on species composition and as large areas of salt pond (7.3 km2). The numbers of each species for the island of Western Salt Ponds of Anegada, those salt Anegada, BVI. The overall aims of this ponds west of 64°20ЈW (Figure 1), were study are as follows; 1. present data that designated a Ramsar site in 1999 (Western can be used as a reference point for future Salt Ponds of Anegada; The Ramsar Con- surveys; 2. allow informed decisions to be vention on Wetlands, 2003). Despite its made regarding conservation, management size, there are only ca. 250 people currently and development; and 3. provide a basic inhabiting the island and it has seen very blueprint for conducting a complete avifau- little development to date. The relatively nal census of a small Caribbean island. undeveloped nature and large amount of AVIFAUNA ASSESSMENT IN ANEGADA 101 wetland make it the ideal place to begin Surveying continued until transects for that detailed surveys within the BVI. day were complete. The only exceptions to this occurred on days when light/weather Bird census methods conditions deteriorated to the point when visible identification was not possible. In The avifauna of Anegada was surveyed order to minimise any potential bias due to periodically from November 2003 to May double counting, birds were only recorded 2005. A variety of survey techniques were when their position relative to the observer used, including coastal line-transects, wet- (AMcG) was opposite to his direction of land surveys, and terrestrial point counts travel. (see below for specific details of each). In total, 69 person-days were expended con- Wetland surveys ducting the surveys. Additional bird spe- As the salt and fresh water wetlands of cies that had not previously been recorded Anegada differ hugely in their size (surface during the specific surveying regimes but area of saltwater ponds = 7.3 km2; surface were encountered opportunistically during area of freshwater ponds = 0.07 km2), a dif- the course of other research were noted and ferent approach was used to survey each included in the species list for the island. pond type. Species were confirmed as breeding on An- The three freshwater ponds were sur- egada if one of the following was observed: veyed by approaching a pond and waiting 1. mating behaviour, 2. nest building, 3. ac- for 5 minutes to elapse before recording the tive nests, or 4. recently fledged chicks. number of individuals of each wetland bird Coastal transects and wetland surveys species present in the following 10 minute were carried out between 07:45 and 18:30 period. If numbers were so large that the hours and were used to assess seabirds (Su- time spent counting all the individuals lidae, Pelecanidae, Fregatidae, Laridae and present exceeded 10 minutes, counting con- Sternidae), shorebirds (Haematopodidae, tinued until all birds had been accounted Recurvirostridae, Charadriidae, and for. Scolopacidae), and waterbirds (Podicipedi- The salt pond surveys consisted of cir- dae, Ardeidae, Phoenicopteridae, Anati- cumnavigating the perimeter of a given salt dae, and Rallidae). All surveys took place pond and recording the number of indi- on clear days with high visibility. Sampling viduals of each wetland bird species en- was temporarily suspended during any countered on the shoreline and on the wa- brief periods of inclement weather. ter. Surveying continued until an entire pond had been completely circumnavi- Coastal transects gated. Again, an exception to this occurred in the event that light/weather conditions During each bout of fieldwork, which had deteriorated to the point that visible took place from May 2004 to March 2005, identification was not possible. As with the every effort was made to twice survey the coastal transects, birds were only recorded western and northern coastline between when their position relative to the observer points A and B (Figure 1). However logis- (AMcG) was opposite to his direction of tical constraints sometimes made this im- travel. possible. This particular portion of the coastline was chosen for the study because Point counts it could be easily surveyed on foot. By con- trast, the remaining section of coastline on Point counts are widely used as a census the southern side of the island would have technique in ornithological research, par- required the use of a boat. During each sur- ticularly for studying passerines (Gibbons vey, the area extending 50 m from either et al. 1996; Greenwood 1996). Recently, side of the shoreline was examined and a however, alternative methods have been record was made for number of individuals shown to provide better diversity estimates of each species of sea, shore and waterbird. (Watson 2003, 2004). However, given our 102 A. MCGOWAN ET AL. logistical constraints, terrestrial bird popu- that could potentially be present on An- lations were assessed via point-counts con- egada.
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