Projects on Adrien Gelle

CMR - Data transformation App

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

CMR data transformation app example (user interface)

Mauritius kestrel

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) is a small bird of prey endemic to the island of Mauritius. Once abundant throughout the island, the population of Mauritius Kestrels began to decline rapidly in the 20th century due to a combination of factors, primarily habitat loss, introduced predators, and the widespread use of pesticides like DDT.

By the 1970s, the Mauritius Kestrel had become one of the rarest birds in the world, with only a handful of individuals remaining in the wild. At its lowest point in 1974 it was estimated that there were only four individuals left.

However, the story of the Mauritius Kestrel took a remarkable turn thanks to the efforts of conservationists. In 1973, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, led by conservationist Gerald Durrell, launched a captive breeding program for the Mauritius Kestrel in collaboration with the Mauritian government and other conservation organizations.

Despite initial challenges and setbacks, including difficulties in breeding the birds in captivity and concerns about inbreeding, the breeding program eventually began to yield results. Through careful management and dedication, the population of Mauritius Kestrels in captivity began to increase steadily.

In 1987, the first captive-bred Mauritius Kestrels were released back into the wild, marking a major milestone in the species’ conservation. Over the following years, additional releases were conducted, and supplementary feeding programs were implemented to support the reintroduced birds as they adjusted to their natural habitat.

Carl Jones in 1982 with one of the first Mauritius kestrels that hatched in captivity

The efforts to save the Mauritius Kestrel paid off, and the population began to rebound. By the early 2000s, the population had increased to over 400 individuals, with breeding populations established in various parts of the island.

Today, the Mauritius Kestrel stands as a symbol of successful conservation efforts and serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting endangered species and their habitats. While challenges remain, particularly in addressing ongoing threats such as habitat destruction and invasive species, the recovery of the Mauritius Kestrel is a proof of what can be achieved through dedication, collaboration, and innovation in conservation efforts.

Holding a juvenile Mauritius kestrel from the 2020-21 breeding season

Facts

Is a bird of prey endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
Small in Size: relatively small birds, measuring about 25 to 30 centimeters in length.
Varied Diet: primarily consists of small birds, lizards, insects, and occasionally small mammals.
Habitat: forests, scrublands, and agricultural areas.
Conservation Status: no longer critically endangered, it remains classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List due to ongoing threats such as habitat degradation and competition with introduced species.

Echo parakeet

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Male Echo parakeet with juvenile (© Vanousha Pillay)

The Mauritius or ‘echo’ parakeet (Alexandrinus eques) is perhaps the most acutely studied bird in Mauritius and maybe one of the most studied in the world. Due to human settlement and expansion since the 17th century, which led to habitat loss and fragmentation (Cheke and Hume, 2020; Safford, 1997; Vaughan and Wiehe, 1937), as well as the introduction of exotic plants and animals (Lorence and Sussman, 1986), two endemic species of parrot went extinct ( Lophopsittacus mauritianus and Lophopsittacus bensoni (Cheke, 1987)) and the Echo Parakeet population size and range began to decline (Jones, 1980). By the 1980s, this decline had progressed to the point where the species was classified as ‘critically endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. The extinction of the species seemed imminent by the early 1990s, when the echo parakeet was considered not only the rarest parrot in the world (Venning, 1993), but also one of the world’s rarest and most endangered bird of any group (Collar et al., 1994). However, intensive conservation efforts helped the species to recover from a population size of fewer than 20 individuals in the 1980s (Jones 1987, Jones and Duffy 1993) to over 150 breeding pairs and 800 individuals in 2020 (MWF, 2020). As a result, the species was downlisted on the IUCN Red List twice this century, from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2007 (BirdLife International, 2007), and to Vulnerable in 2019 (BirdLife International, 2019).

“Like most Mauritian naturalists I believe that the echo parakeet will become extinct in the very near future.” (Jones, 1980)

The conservation success of the echo parakeet was achieved through intensive conservation management (including captive breeding, nest manipulation, installation of artificial nest boxes, supplementary food, predator and competitor control) and monitoring (Jones and Duffy, 1993; Thorsen and Jones, 1998). Population recovery is largely due to the provision of artificial nest boxes (Tatayah et al., 2007) and supplemental food (Tollington et al., 2018).

Facts

The only survivor of six parrot species once found in the Mascarenes islands.
Diet: leaves, fruits, flowers and stems of primarily native plant species (also includes exotic species).
Cavity nesters (naturally nesting in cavities in endemic trees).
The Echo Parakeet project is the world’s most successful parrot recovery programme.

More information about the project on Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.

Acknowledgement

The monitoring and management of the Echo parakeet population is part of a long-term species recovery programme conducted by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF), with support from the Institute of Zoology (ZSL), University of Kent, and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. All data was provided by MWF.