Observations on the Nesting Ecology of Seabirds in Al –Daymaniat Islands, Sultanate of Oman

Waheed Abdullah Al-Fazari, Reginadl victor

Abstract


Results of a survey on the nesting ecology of seabirds conducted in the summer of 2010 in one of the Al Daymaniat Islands, Oman is presented. Three species of terns, Onychoprion anaethetus, Thalasseus bergiii and Sterna repressa and one species of gull, Ichthyaetus hemprichii were nesting on this island. Nesting habitats of all four species were monitored from the beginning to the end of the breeding season. Onychoprion anaethetus was the most abundant species and its nests were mainly restricted to the vegetation. Thallasseus bergiii and S. repressa were represented by one and three colonies respectively. Ichthyaetus hemprichii nested all over the island. The nests of O. anaethetus was sheltered by the vegetation or rocks, while all other species built scrape nests on open ground. The egg laying and hatching periods, clutch size and egg morphometry have been reported for all four species. Nest dimensions, nesting success percentage and pattern of nest distribution within colonies have also been presented for I. hemprichii and S. repressa. Protection of this island from development of tourism and other activities within the Al Daymaniat Marine Nature Reserve is emphasized.

Keywords


Seabirds; Breeding; Nesting; Ecology; Northern Islands

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