Rädda albatrosserna i Tierra del Fuego
(EDIT: Insamlingen är avslutad. Se senaste uppdateringar längst ner.)
Människan har introducerat minkar till södra Sydamerika. Dessa minkar har nu nått en ö där svartbrynade albatrosser häckar. Om några år kommer kolonin att vara utrotad om vi inte gör något nu.
Tillsammans med den lokala organisationen Wildlife Conservation Society Chile och det svenska Jägarförbundet (Invasive Species Specialist Group) har vi kommit fram till vad vi tror är en bra lösning.
I Sverige har en ny typ av fällor testats med gott resultat det senaste året. Fällorna, som tillverkas i Nya Zeeland fungerar under långa perioder utan övervakning och återställning vid aktivering. Detta är viktigt eftersom ön där albatrosserna häckar är isolerad. Dessutom är fällorna gjorda så att minkar inte behöver lida.
Ett större antal fällor kommer att köpas den kommande månaden för användning i Norden. Samtidigt vill vi då passa på att beställa fällor som kan användas i Eldslandet. Men budgeten för arbetet i Sydamerika är begränsad.
Vi behöver minst 30 000 SEK för att köpa fällor.
REDOVISNING AV INSAMLADE MEDEL
Här på min blogg alve.henricson.eu kommer jag att redovisa samtliga inbetalningar med namn eller pseudonym som donatorn väljer. Jag redovisar också bevis på överförda pengar till den chilenska organisationen som arbetar med albatrossernas bevarande. 100% av intäkterna kommer att gå till inköp av fällor och kostnader som är relaterade till detta, till exempel frakt och liknande.
Swish: (Insamlingen är avslutad)
Bankgiro: (Insamlingen är avslutad)
Skriv: Albatrosser
Länk till PDF där arbetet med att rädda den utrotningshotade kolonin beskrivs:
http://henricson.eu/albatross/Informe%20Final%20ID%20No%20612543-2-LE17.pdf
Länk till karta som visar var kolonin finns:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Localizacion-del-islote-Albatros-donde-se-hallo-el-nuevo-sitio-de-reproduccion-de-al_fig1_256892688
Exempel på tidigare utförd insamling:
http://alve.henricson.eu/2014/11/17/insamling-till-tubkikare-for-skolbarn/
Tack för att du sprider informationen vidare!
Tack för ditt stöd!
Gjorda inbetalningar
| Namn | Belopp i SEK |
| Conny Zetterberg | 1000 |
| Sven Gräfnings | 300 |
| Christer Åstrand | 400 |
| Cristina Paulin Casplin | 1050 |
| Barbro Nelly | 200 |
| Håkan Persson | 200 |
| Arne Bivrin | 500 |
| E o J-O Johansson | 1000 |
| Jöns Sjöstedt | 500 |
| Reinhold Skoglund | 200 |
| Philippa Ledin | 200 |
| Mattias Sjösvärd | 500 |
| Per Snellman | 500 |
| Agneta Vistam | 100 |
| Nils-Olof Hjort | 150 |
| Ines Ezcurra | 500 |
| Ulf Gyllensten | 1000 |
| Lars Johansson | 1000 |
| Tony Ekmark | 300 |
| Rose-Marie Norén | 1000 |
| Erik Malm | 500 |
| Håkan Ahlgren | 200 |
| Eva Desiré Nyberg | 200 |
| Ola Sjöstedt | 500 |
| Mårten Johansson | 1000 |
| Hasse Strandberg | 300 |
| Kristina Wetterdal | 200 |
| Tommy Haglund | 500 |
| Charlotta Sjöstedt | 500 |
| Ineke Jansson | 300 |
| Petter Berntson | 200 |
| Bengt Grandin | 500 |
| Lena Nikkola | 1000 |
| Gunnel Karlsson | 500 |
| Christer Folkesson | 500 |
| Torgny Wiederholm | 1000 |
| Ingela Backman | 500 |
| Mårten Näslund | 4000 |
| Birgitta Lindfors | 4000 |
| Alve Henricson | 1000 |
| Göran Löwkrantz | 200 |
| Susanne Johansson | 2000 |
| Mikael Roos | 500 |
| Å-M Andersson | 200 |
| Ola Karlsson | 500 |
| DELSUMMA | 31 400 |
Vi har nått vårt mål!
Ett jättestort tack till alla som medverkat, tillsammans har vi lyckats!
Om det kommer in mer pengar kommer vi att köpa fler fällor som då placeras längs med kusten på Eldslandets fastland i närheten av ön där albatrosserna häckar.
Jag kommer att hålla er uppdaterade om vad som nu händer. Så småningom kommer ni att få se kvitton på överförda pengar och bilder på fällorna när de utplaceras i Chile.
Fantastiskt! Detta blir man glad av!!!
_____________________________
Uppdateringar
20 december 2018
På grund av en försening i tillverkningen av fällor kommer den första leveransen inte att ske för än i slutet av mars. Materialet i nuvarande fällor visar sig inte tåla kyla. De spricker vid minusgrader. Detta är något som framkommit under tester i Norge och Sverige.
Jag kommer att hålla på betalningen av fällorna fram till leveransdatum.
Försening av leverans av fällor påverkar inte årets kull av albatrosser eftersom de redan har kläckts. Det viktiga nu är att förbereda fällorna inför kommande säsong som börjar i oktober 2019.
Jag håller er uppdaterade! Hälsningar!
Alve
___________________________
27 februari 2019
Rapport från Chile:
ALBATROSS ISLET PLAN 2019-2020
Background
In the year 2003 a new Black-browed Albatross colony (Thalassarche melanophris Temminck, 1828) was described on Seno Almirantazgo, Tierra del Fuego (Aguayo et al. 2003), in a recently declared marine protected area (AMCP-MU Seno Almirantazgo).
The colony is located on an islet which surface reaches almost 10 hectares (See .kmz attached file). Even though it is a small colony of near 60 reproductive couples, is the only one located on inner waters. This characteristic confers it a high value for research and tourism. Nevertheless, this is also a menace for the colony.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been studying the colony for a couple of years and the data has shown reproductive success troubles.
During reproductive season 2014-2015 the presence of American mink (Neovison vison) was detected in the islet and no Albatrosses chick survive that summer. This voracious invasive exotic species was seeing again during season 2015-2016 with the same result for the colony. The presence of the minks in the area are of great concern, it represents a menace not only for the Albatrosses but also to all the islet fauna. Since then WCS has been developing mink control activities using conibear #110 and #120 traps. To date we have completed three seasons (2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019) with this project and still the reproductive success of the colony is 0%.
Along with the trapping activity, the Albatross population has been monitored by camera trapping and checking active nests (eggs or chicks) at least once a month during the season. The last three years the dynamics has been the same: presence of eggs during October, chicks and eggs in late November and early December (but less active nests than detected during October), some activity remaining during middle January (two chicks last season) and no chicks at all during February.
Minks have never been detected on cameras from the colony but they have on cameras installed in other parts of the islet, near the shore. The detection usually starts during late December as well as the captures in the traps. Nonetheless, the captures are variable (seven minks the first year and one in the second year of the project, even though at least two different individuals were identified on camera). This year we still have not capture any, nor on conibear traps, nor on camera. Last year we have detected minks
entering and leaving the traps, it means the trap did not activate. As we do not have cameras for every trap we install we do not know if this happened again this year in some of the traps that are far from the cameras. Besides, touristic operators have seen minks in the coast line nearby, so minks are still a menace to the islet.
It is important to mention that we have registered the activity of other predators that may be contributing to the null reproductive success of the colony. Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) presence has been increasing in the islet and has been capture on camera predating over Albatrosses chicks and eggs. In addition, we have detected Huillín (Lontra provocax) on the islet, an otter that potentially may feed on albatrosses as it has been seen in penguin colonies. It means that Albatrosses in this islet are under pressure from invasive and native predators.
Minks are, of course, not just a menace for the islet biodiversity but for all Tierra del Fuego. Its presence has been detected in different areas as along the coastline nearby (See A, B, C and D on the attached .kmz file), Karukinka Park (the private conservation area WCS administrates in Chile) and in King Penguin Park (See Parque Pingüino Rey on the attached .kmz file).
2019 – 2020
Next season we will keep describing the mink’s activity by using trap cameras, identifying predators in the nests and evaluating how the albatross colony survives. Considering the previous antecedents, our main goal for the 2019-2020 season is to continue with the monitoring activities in the Albatross colony to understand the population dynamics as well as to control mink activity in the islet and coasts nearby.
Our specific goals will be:
– To keep minks out of the islet
– To control minks in the nearby shorelines (considering the sites that are at less than 5 km from the colony, the places where most probably the minks start their trip to the islet)
– To monitor native carnivores activity in the islet
– To monitor the reproductive dynamics of Black-browed Albatross
In addition to this, an according to the collaboration in progress with Goodnature® and Alve Henricson, we add an additional goal that would be to test A18 Mink Traps® during the cold season (April – August) in three different areas from Tierra del Fuego known to have mink activity:
– Parque Pingüino Rey (10 traps)
– Lote 10, Parque Karukinka (See “Lote 10” tags on attached .kmz files) (10 traps)
– Shores nearby Albatross islet (20 traps)
This way we learn to use the traps, try them in our environment and let the traps ”acclimatize” (in a previous mail from the research team in Sweden they manifested that the traps needed some time in the wild ”to merge” before minks start approaching them). The results obtained in this trial will be used to improve the A18 Mink Traps® design and so with a second improved batch, hopely arriving in early spring, will start the Albatross colony protection. Ideally starting on October, when the reproductive couples return to the islet and so during summer, all the efforts will be in the islet and surroundings considering that the activity of minks also increase during summer, December and January in particular.
Activities
* We will keep using the traditional conibear #110 and #120 traps on the islet (28) using jurel (fish) as lure.
* A18 Mink Traps® will be used in the islet (15) and in the shores nearby (25) starting on October.
* Through camera trapping we will collect additional data on predator presence and occupation, eventually identifying with photographic evidence other species predating on Albatrosses chicks and eggs.
* The colony monitoring will be performed by at least two persons from September 2019 until march 2020 once a month, increasing the frequency of the islet visits during December, January and February (twice a month at least).
About other species. On the islet there are other birds usually captured on camera picking on traps: Chimango Caracacara (Milvago chimango), Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) and Zorzal (Turdus falklandii).
Some tiny native field mice have been seen around the traps as well as Huillín (an otter from about 6-15 Kg).
On land, there are foxes that may be poking around, like Culpeo Fox (Lycalopex culpeaus) and King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on the King penguin colony we plan to use the traps. No native mustelids of small size are presents in the area.