Résumé sterne anglais

Actualité

31 mars 2017

Recueil d'expériences

Qu'avons nous fait ces six dernières années ? Consultez notre Recueil d'expériences du programme LIFE...

23 janvier 2017

Rapport final 2016

Le rapport final est en ligne avec ses produits livrables et ses annexes !

30 juin 2016

6e Lettre d'information

La sixième lettre d'information est en ligne ! Venez la découvrir !

21 mars 2016

Les mulettes du Sarthon à la loupe !

Des prélèvements ont été réalisés sur certaines mulettes du Sarthon...

07 janvier 2013

Reportage sur Pêche TV

Un reportage sur le LIFE mulette est disponible sur Pêche TV !

Plan du site |

Impression | Mise à jour : 17/05/2023

Conservation of the Roseate Tern in Brittany

Conservation of the Roseate Tern in Brittany

The Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii is very cosmopolitan but its global range is highly fragmented. Most of the global population, about 120 000 pairs, breeds outside Europe. In the North Atlantic Ocean, the Roseate Tern breeds on the north eastern coast of America and in Europe mainly on the Azores, in the Irish Sea region and on the north coast of Brittany in France. Since the 1970’s, European numbers have decreased dramatically by more than 50% to less than 2000 pairs in the last years. In France, the colony of Brittany supports nearly 100% of the French population and approximately 5% of the European numbers.

In Europe, it has increased slowly everywhere except in France. But on the north eastern coasts of America populations have declined recently and the reasons for this decline remain obscure. In Brittany, Roseate Tern’s population decreased a lot during seventies from an average of 360 breeding pairs between 1954 and 1973 to 90-100 pairs after 1980.

In Brittany, the main threats are uncontrolled human disturbance, predation by American Mink Mustela vison, predation and spatial interspecific competition with gulls Larus ssp, and unfavourable habitat management on potential nesting sites. The French population is also threatened because for the last 15 years there has been only one nesting site which makes it extremely fragile in case of accidental events… Today, the Île aux Dames in the bay of Morlaix holds the near-total French population of Roseate Tern i.e. seventy pairs.

On its wintering grounds in Ghana in western Africa, trapping by children is also an important threat for the Roseate Tern but this project doesn’t deal with that threat.

Those threats and the small numbers in France are the reason for this Life project with two objectives:

to increase the population by improving productivity
to increase the current distribution in Brittany.

The means to implement these objectives on 5 Special Protection Areas are:

to establish a management plan for each site after an analysis of adequate vegetation monitoring for terns (preparing next Natura 2000 objectives document);

to enhance legislative protection on nesting sites when it is necessary;

to ensure the presence of wardens throughout the breeding season;

to control predators such as mink, rat and gulls;

to attract new multispecific terns colonies by creating artificial colonies (3D tern decoys and sound recordings and artificial stone nests);

to promote public awareness on Natura 2000 sites through a film and conferences;

to inform local institutions (kayak and water sports clubs, local councillors, fishermen, companies of tourist boats);

to enhance information exchange with international scientists by organising a Roseate Tern Workshop in France in 2009;

to communicate to the managers of Natura 2000 sites the findings of the Life project: annual newsletters and management guide;

to improve knowledge of the dynamic population of Roseate Tern in Brittany and its importance for European population (emigration from Brittany or immigration) by chicks ringing programme and ring reading of adults.

The project will begin the 1^st November 2005 and will finish the 31^st October 2010. At the end of the 5-year programme, the prospects are:

a good production of the colony of the île aux Dames, and an inversion of the negative trend of the breeding population of these colony;

the come-back of multispecific colonies on other sites;

the implementation of a long-term perpetuation of the means brought by the Life and their gratitude by local and regional authorities.

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Mise à jour le 17/05/2023

Réalisé par Cognix Systems sur WebGazelle^®

Bretagne Vivante, programmes Life : sterne de Dougall