NRLD - 330535 | Sternula saundersi

Assessment ID

330535

Taxon name

Sternula saundersi

(Hume, 1877)

Uploaded by

National Red List Database

Taxonomic information

Scientific name

Sternula saundersi

(Hume, 1877)

Assessed taxon level

Species

Higher level taxonomic groupings

Vertebrates

Birds

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

chordata

Class

aves

Order

charadriiformes

Family

laridae

Genus

Sternula

Species

saundersi

Species authority

(Hume, 1877)

Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed

Sternula saundersi;was previously placed in the genus Sterna;(del Hoyo et al. 2014).

Location and scope

Specific locality or subnational name or regional name

United Arab Emirates (the)

Scope (of the Assessment)

National

Countries included within the scope of the assessment

United Arab Emirates (the)

Country ISO code(s)

ARE

Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?

Not_assigned

Conservation Status

Assessed as

Critically Endangered

Abbreviated status

Qualifying criteria (if given)

A2bce+4bce; C1

Criteria system used

IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification

This species has a very small breeding population in the UAE which is declining extremely rapidly. In the wider Arabian Peninsula, the species is fluctuating or in decline, and the degree of rescue effect is uncertain. Therefore, the species is precautionarily listed as Critically Endangered at the national level.

Assessment details

Year assessed

2019

Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed

UAE National Red List Workshop

Criteria system used

IUCN

Reference for methods given

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.

Further information

Endemism (according to assessment)

Endemic to region

Not assigned

Taxon distribution as listed in assessment

This species is a breeding visitor along the east and west coasts of the UAE, as well as on islands in the Arabian Gulf (Jennings 2010, Pedersen et al. 2017). The population is temporarily supplemented by migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds (Pedersen et al. 2017). During winter, the species is scarcer or completely absent (Pedersen et al. 2017). This is the only tern that breeds on the mainland as well as on offshore islands.

Is there a map available in assessment?

Yes

Habitat and systems

Ecological system type

Terrestrial

Not_assigned

Freshwater

Not_assigned

Marine

Not_assigned

Habitat

Habitat details as listed in assessment

This species occurs over shallow coastal water, often close to the mainland or coastal islands (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). In Arabia it was observed feeding on small fish (Jennings 2010); elsewhere it also takes crustaceans, molluscs and insects (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It nests on the mainland up to 1.5 km inland, mostly on beaches or open sites just above the high tide mark that allow an early detection of ground predators (Jennings 2010). While some pairs nest singly, the majority forms small loose colonies of up to 20 pairs, which are less conspicuous to predators than large ones (Jennings 2010). The breeding season lasts from late March to mid-June or July, with the majority of chicks hatching in May (Jennings 2010). The nest is flat or a slight hollow on bare sand, shingle or dried mud (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Snow and Perrins 1998, Jennings 2010). Clutches contain mostly two eggs, and only rarely one or three eggs (Jennings 2010). Outside of the breeding season, large flocks of up to 1,000 individuals gather on the Arabian Gulf (Jennings 2010). The movements of this species in winter are not well known, but individuals may disperse out to the northern Indian Ocean (Jennings 2010).

Threats and conservation measures listed

Threats listed in assessment

The major threats to this species come from the loss of breeding sites due to coastal and island development, with at least one island site partially lost, predation by cats and rats primarily on islands, and foxes on the mainland, oil and other marine pollution, and disturbance (Aspinall 1996, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi 2016). Some of the islands with breeding colonies are inhabited, and human disturbance is a threat.

History

The population would have been larger in the past, Aspinall gives 500-1,000 pairs in 1994, with no suggestion of decline, and the species would have been VU (D1) in 1996. Significant declines have occurred;in recent years as a result of the loss of breeding sites due to coastal and island development, with at least one island site partially lost, predation by cats and rats primarily on islands, and foxes on the mainland, oil and other marine pollution, and disturbance. Some of the islands with breeding colonies are inhabited, and human disturbance is a threat.

Publication

UAE National Red List of Birds

Burfield, I.J., Westrip, J., Sheldon, R.D., Hermes, C., Wheatley, H., Smith, D., Harding, K.A. Allen, D.J. and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Birds. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates