Individual study: Response of sooty terns Sterna fuscata to experimental manipulation of vegetation density at two breeding colonies in the Culebra Archipelago, Puerto Rico
Published source details
Saliva J.E. & Burger J. (1989) Effect of experimental manipulation of vegetation density on nest-site selection in sooty terns. The Condor, 91, 689-698
This study is summarised as evidence for the intervention(s) shown on the right. The icon shows which synopsis it is relevant to.
Remove vegetation to create nesting areas
A controlled trial conducted over two seasons (1986-7) at two sooty tern Sterna fuscata breeding colonies in grasslands in the Culebra Archipelago of eastern Puerto Rico (Saliva & Burger 1989) found that terns did not nest in six experimental plots that had been entirely cleared of vegetation, but did nest in three plots in which partial removal of vegetation had resulted in 25%, 50% or 75% vegetation cover. In 1987, there were more nests in partially-cleared areas than in control (un-cleared) plots (58 nests in three regrowth plots vs. 40 in four controls).