Extent of migration of sooty terns presents conservation challenges

Sooty terns' wide ranging migration patterns present big challenges for conservationists working to understand and address a sharp population decline, according to scientists at the University of Birmingham. The team used GLS ('geolocator') tracking data to show the migration patterns of sooty terns from the largest breeding population of terns in the Atlantic, based on Ascension Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. They found that birds ranged up to 2,900 km from their breeding colonies and covered some 47,000 km during an eight-month migratory period. Ascension Island was designated a Marine Protection Area (MPA), in 2019. The MPA covers some 443,000 square km (170,000 square miles) with Ascension Island at its heart. The new study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, is one of the first to examine the potential conservation benefits of this new MPA. The research, led by Dr Jim Reynolds , based in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham, focused on the movements and behaviours of sooty terns that are valuable bioindicators of the overall health of the marine ecosystem by virtue of their far-ranging migratory behaviour.