Press Release
Puerto Ayora, Galapagos – April 5, 2007
A recent workshop arranged by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Service focused on how to restore the population of the rare Floreana mockingbird, Nesomimus trifasciatus. Local, national and international experts in bird population management and reintroduction as well as Galapagos flora and fauna gathered to for a week-long seminar in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island from March 5th to 9th.
The species' Floreana population became extinct around 1860 and now the species survives only on two small islets near Floreana. The return of the mockingbird to its original range is a step toward the complete restoration of Floreana Island's natural ecosystem and the creation of a sustainable system and model approach to island conservation.
A ten year action plan developed by the group will focus on the conservation of the bird in the small islets of Champion and Gardner near Floreana and a detailed reintroduction plan to re-establish a population on Floreana itself. The viability and ultimate success of this project will be to secure funding, which was also a key discussion topic of the seminar. Organizers are confident that the highly successful restoration program underway on northern Isabela Island in recent years will be a catalyst for garnering support for not only the mockingbird project but for the full restoration of the Floreana flora and fauna.
The consensus of the group was that this seminar was extremely productive and encouraging. Offered Prof. Dr. Tjitte de Vries from the Zoology Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, long term visiting scientist and CDF general assembly member, "It was incredibly valuable to bring together so many experts to discuss – and develop a strategy for such a groundbreaking project." At the dinner held to celebrate the conclusion of the workshop, De Vries expressed his ultimate conclusion that "In 10 years I am confident we will gather again to celebrate the successful reintroduction of 25 breeding pairs [of the species]." This number would ensure that there is a sufficiently diverse genetic pool of individuals to create a full species recovery.
Nesomimus trifasciatus became extinct on Floreana approximately 135 years ago, and no more than 150 individuals still exist on the nearby islets of Gardner and Champion. Considered one of the world's rarest birds, the species is critically endangered because of its small population size and limited geographic range. Said Bryan Milstead, CDF's head of vertebrate research, "Their extinction on Floreana is believed to have been caused by introduced species: depredation by black rats, the devastation of their main nesting sites by goats and donkeys. Cats would have also likely played a major role in their demise." After good breeding seasons, Floreana mockingbirds from Gardner and Champion islets often disperse to Floreana, but are quickly preyed upon by feral cats and breeding inhibited by rats.
The workshop was funded by a donation from the UK based Friends of Galapagos organization, Galapagos Conservation Trust, and the Galapagos Conservation Fund run by Galapagos travel company Lindblad Expeditions.
Galapagos suffers from similar problems as other islands around the world where extinctions have occurred at an unprecedented rate due to the impacts of humans and introduced species. However, the restoration of island systems is possible. Felipe Cruz, CDF's Director of Technical Assistance says, "We cannot afford to lose even one species of our world heritage without in some manner impoverishing our society and that of the future. Our world heritage is not an acquired right, but an undeniable inheritance for generations to come."
Media contact: Ivonne Guzmán – Email: cdfinfo@fcdarwin.org.ec