Masaduera Rayadito (Aphrastura masafuerae) Case Study
Home > Biodiversity Nature & People > Conservation Philanthropy > Grants > MBZF Grant 182519121
Continent: South America
Country: Chile
Grant Amount: $5,650
Awarded Date: November 01, 2018
Julia Dunn
Oikonos - Ecosystem Knowledge
PO Box 1918
Kailua
Hawaii
96734
United States
Tel: 9199281851
Mob: 3234930041
Castaway Conservation: Saving the Critically Endangered Masafuera Rayadito
The Masafuera Rayadito, globally listed as Critically Endangered, is endemic to a single island, Isla Alejandro Selkirk, Chile. The loss of critical breeding habitat and predation by invasive cats and rodents are responsible for the alarming decline of this species. To address these threats, we developed and improved our programs of artificial nesting boxes and invasive plant control with local community support.
The Masafuera Rayadito program seeks to understand the natural history and breeding biology of the species, and to conduct concrete actions to improve its habitat and mitigate threats. These objectives are achieved through the installation and monitoring of predator-proof nest boxes and invasive plant control in critical habitat.
OBJECTIVE 1: Improve nesting habitat for rayadito through the vetted predator-proof artificial nest boxes. Activities include monitoring the existing nest boxes in the zones where rayaditos are frequently observed, and relocating 20 boxes from the northern sector to the higher altitude southern area. This hotspot region was identified recently as a high-use area through acoustic monitoring via SongMeter.
OBJECTIVE 2. Control invasive plants in priority sites for rayadito. We will apply protocols developed previously for the Juan Fernández Firecrown to the neighboring island for the rayadito. The objective is to restore the endemic forest habitat to improve nesting and foraging opportunities for the species through invasive plant control. We will employ established and validated chemical and manual treatments to an area of approximately 10 hectares in targeted plots of high conservation value.
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