The Conservation and Biology of the Damara Tern Sterna balaenarum in Namibia

Research Team: Justine Braby (ADU), Rob Simmons (PFIAO), Les Underhill (ADU) and Jean-Paul Roux (ADU & Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia)

This study was first initiated by the Namdeb Diamond Company, the ADU and the Fitz to look at the possible effects of diamond mining on the breeding productivity of the Damara Tern. Since then the thesis has been upgraded from an MSc to a PhD and is now a cross-section of the species. The Damara Tern is a globally Near-threatened seabird breeding along the desert coastline of Namibia, Angola and South Africa. The survival of the species is at risk due to increasing coastal development and off-road driving in Namibia. The thesis provides the first detailed information of breeding biology, demography and threats, re-assesses the global population, and makes recommendations for the conservation of the species. Justine's work has taken her to Nigeria, to survey migrant Damara Terns in their non-breeding grounds and to the Atacama Desert in Chile, to join a team or researchers on the study of the ecologically equivalent Peruvian Tern Sterna lorata.

Find out more about the Seabird Research Programme.