Pink-footed Shearwater, Fardela Blanca, Conservation

The Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) is also called Fardela Blanca on their nesting islands in Chile. Shearwaters nest in underground burrows that they excavate. At the colonies they are vulnerable to introduced predators and habitat degradation.© Peter Hodum


Project Description

The Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus), a Chilean endemic seabird listed as Vulnerable by IUCN, breeds on Robinson Crusoe and Santa Clara, both islands of the Juan Fernández Archipelago. Its only other known breeding locality is Isla Mocha, a large island just off the coast of mainland Chile. After breeding, they migrate north, sometimes as far as Alaska, to feed in productive shelf waters within a few hundred meters of the coastline.

Towards the conservation of this special species, a collaborative group of people from Chile, U.S., Mexico, and Canda are working together with the Juan Fernández Islands Conservancy. The following ecological parameters are being investigated:

1) population biology
2) breeding biology and behavior
3) diet and foraging ecology
4) Pacific-wide migration patterns and behavior
5) effects of introduced mammals - predation, habitat degradation, competition


Learn More

Conservation

Migration Tracking - Español and English

Global Distribution

International Capacity Building - Español and English

New Species Website - www.pinkfootedshearwater.org or www.fardela.org

U.S. Contact

Dr. Peter Hodum, Director JFIC, Oikonos

Current Collaborators

Dr. David Hyrenbach, Duke University and University of Washington
Erin Hagen, University of Washington
Dr. Scott Shaffer, University of California Santa Cruz


Funders

Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF)
Department of Interior, NOAA Office of International Affairs
Tagging of Pacific Pelagics
National Geographic

Acknowledgements

In addition to the funders and collaborators above, we thank the following people and organizations for their special support:

Dr. Michelle Wainstein
American Bird Conservancy
Wildlife Conservation Society

Juan Fernández Islands Conservancy

The Juan Fernández Archipelago is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, 670 km off the coast of central Chile. The conservation research is supported by the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) and other collaborators and funders working to understand and protect this threatened and unique ecosystem.

El Archipiélago Juan Fernández está ubicado en el sureste del Océano Pacífico, 670 km de la costa central de Chile. Los estudios de conservación son apoyados por la Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF), un organismo del gobierno nacional de Chile, y en conjunto con otros colaboradores trabajando para conocer y proteger este amenazado y único ecosistema.