The use of social attraction techniques to restore seabird colonies on Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico
Authors: Jose-Luis Herrera-Giraldo, Cielo E. Figuerola-Hernández, Coral A. Wolf, Ricardo Colón-Merced, Eduardo Ventosa-Febles, Susan Silander, Nick D. Holmes
Date: 15/04/2021
Publisher: British Ecological Society
Desecheo Island, once a key seabird habitat in the Caribbean, saw major declines due to invasive mammals and past military use. Conservation efforts began in 1976, leading to the eradication of goats, macaques, and rats by 2016. In 2018, social attraction methods (decoys, mirrors and sound systems,) were introduced to aid seabird recovery, targeting bridled terns, brown noddies, and the Audubon’s shearwater. Monitoring over two years recorded seven bridled tern nests and the first sightings of Audubon’s shearwater on the island, though no brown noddy activity was observed. These findings suggest social attraction may support seabird recolonization and conservation on Desecheo Island.