Protection of marine birds and turtles at St Brandon’s Rock, Indian Ocean, requires conservation of the entire atoll

A survey of seabirds and turtles at St Brandon’s Rock, 400 km north of Mauritius, was undertaken in 2010. We estimated that 1 084 191 seabirds comprising seven breeding species and excluding non-breeders were present at the archipelago and we counted 279 turtle tracks and nesting pits of green turtles <i>Chelonia mydas</i>. Hawksbill turtles <i>Eretmochelys imbricata</i> were also present. Analyses of 30 different islets that make up the atoll showed that the seabird species mostly partitioned their use of islets based on islet size, with four species preferring larger islets and two species preferring smaller islets. Alien species introduced historically are still present and other threats, such as shipwrecks, remain. We propose conservation and other measures that should adequately protect the birds, turtles and coral reef by treating the atoll as a system.

本研究于2010年对毛里求斯以北400公里处的圣布兰登岩（St Brandon’s Rock）开展了海鸟与海龟调查。经估算，该群岛共栖息有1084191只海鸟，涵盖7个繁殖物种（不含非繁殖个体）；本次调查共记录到279处海龟足迹以及绿海龟（Chelonia mydas）的筑巢坑，玳瑁（Eretmochelys imbricata）亦有分布。对构成该环礁（atoll）的30座不同小岛开展的分析显示，海鸟物种对小岛的利用模式主要依小岛面积进行分区：其中4个物种偏好较大岛屿，2个物种偏好较小岛屿。历史上引入的外来物种仍存续，同时仍存在其他威胁因素，例如船舶失事。本研究提出以该环礁为整体生态系统开展保护的相关举措，以期对海鸟、海龟与珊瑚礁形成充分保护。