Auklet conservation research, Farallon Islands, USA - 2009
Hannah Watson, of the University of Bangor, is conducting
auklet conservation research and monitoring on the Farallon
Islands, a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the
Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, 27 miles (43 km)
outside the Golden Gate. Auklets are black-and-white short-necked
web-footed diving birds.
Hannah (pictured with a rhinoceros auklet) explained “we
monitor auklets [a small seabird] breeding in nest boxes across
the island to understand reproductive success and how it varies
with age, as well as monitoring what adults are feeding their
chicks, which provides a wealth of information on productivity
within the ocean.”
Hannah, who has learnt many new field techniques and a great
deal about bird behaviour and reproductive strategies, was awarded
£250 by the JWCT in May 2009.
September 2009
“Please find attached my
report . . . in relation to the biological research I conducted this
summer on the Farallon Islands with the kind support of the [JWCT].”Report
July 2009
“Work and life here on the
Farallon Islands is quietening down as the seabird breeding season is
tailing off. Sadly, it has not been a very productive year for many
birds; while it is a little early to say for sure, it seems that the
fish populations in surrounding waters are inadequate to sustain birds
and their chicks this year. It reinforces the significance of the research
we are conducting here and what we are learning not just about birds,
but about the entire marine ecosystem and the effects of environmental
changes within these systems. I shall, of course, shed more light on
this in the report which I will be writing following completion of the
season.”
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