Bridled Tern in flight
photo credit: Floyd Hayes

What is a seabird? Why do they need a working group?

‘'Seabird’ is a general term used to collectively describe any species of bird which spends a substantial part of its life foraging and breeding in the marine environment. Twenty-two species of seabirds breed in the Caribbean, and dozens more occur as migrants in the region. Breeding species are listed in the table below:

Before human habitation of the Caribbean (~7,000 years ago), the relatively predator-free islands of the region sustained abundant seabird populations, probably ten times greater than exist today. Now, tropical seabirds in the Caribbean exist at modest to relatively low densities, with most populations consisting of at most, several thousand pairs (and some on the brink of extinction altogether). As described in Schreiber and Lee (2000), "the serious conservation issues today are the continuing series of single event destructions of the small, seemingly unimportant relict colonies that remain."

These destructions are a result of human needs and habits (egg collecting, introduction of exotic predators, pollution, habitat destruction and disturbance). Addressing these problems will be difficult in a region with many socioeconomic challenges and rapid development. However, sustainable seabird populations in the Caribbean are possible . . . if we can work together on multiple fronts to understand, promote and protect these important natural resources.