.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Hope for the declining Seychelles Magpie Robins
19/06/2015
Atoxomplasma confirmed on Aride Island Following avian expert Johanna’s somewhat urgent trip to the Seychelles in February, tests have confirmed Atoxoplasma present on Aride Island. This is the island where the population declined by 75% in 15 months to just 12 birds.
The Seychelles Magpie Robin only numbers a total of 200 birds spread over 5 islands. The owners/managers of the islands have worked and continue to work together to ensure the survival of the magpie robin under the collaboration of the Seychelles Magpie Recovery Team (SMART). In January, April Burt, the then SMART coordinator highlighted the further demise of the Aride Island population to WVI. We were due to follow up Andrew and Debbie’s visit in November 2014 anyway, but perhaps not quite so soon.
Andrew was unavailable so we sent Johanna Storm, who is an amazing avian surgeon (amongst other reptile and avian strengths). On 27th-28th February 2015, the remaining 12 birds on Aride Island were caught and samples taken for analysis. The team then moved to Cousin Island to take samples from healthy SMRs for comparison and to look at any sick ones, should there be some. Samples that Johanna collected and from the one and only dead body – a fledgeling that happened to be found dying on Cousin Island – have all been brought back and the relevant labs identified. There are currently no such facilities in the Seychelles, something WVI would like to address. Thanks to the generosity of IZVG Pathology, who ran the faecal tests, we have found atoxoplasma in a number of samples from Aride Island. Atoxoplamsa is a parasite that is found primarily in passerines. Clinical signs are nonspecific and the disease causes rapid and fatal decline particularly in fledglings birds where a 80% mortality rate can be seen. The owner of Cousin Island managed to get hold of some Baytril and the field staff on Aride Island are in the process of dosing the remaining 11 birds. The plan was to put the Baytril in provided waterdishes, inhibiting access to other sources – Aride Island is not called ‘aride’ for nothing!
As ever, good laid plans never quite work, particularly if you are working with animals. The birds were refusing to drink from the available water. Ever resourceful, the ICS conservation staff first added sugar to the water and then put in cockroaches – a favourite – in the hope that enough drenched cockroaches would do the job. To date, 10 of the 11 birds have fallen for the trick and the next dosing is due in 2 weeks. Only a further analysis of faecal samples will determine how well the delivery method worked. This project needs urgent funding to analyse the samples we have, and those we wish to collect both on Aride Island with known infections and other islands where we think the birds are healthy. Comparing the populations will be imperative to finding out what is going on.
