Social attractants, a conservation tool for black‐fronted terns

Abstract

Social attraction techniques for species restoration and conservation projects predominantly target colonial breeding species, which commonly use conspecific cues as indicators of habitat quality. The black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) is a globally endangered species that primarily breeds in transient colonies in New Zealand's braided rivers. Currently, predator control and habitat enhancement are the primary management strategies for improving black-fronted tern populations. Methods that increase the probability of black-fronted tern colonies being protected by management through an increase in site fidelity of breeding colonies, both within and among years, may greatly increase effectiveness of management. Social attractants, decoys, and audio playback were deployed at 10 sites within 9 Canterbury braided rivers over the 2016 breeding season (September-December). We found that terns interacted with the social attractants compared with the paired untreated plots absent of social attractants. Nearest locations of tern breeding were recorded for 8 of the 10 sites, with breeding recorded within 300 m of the social attractant experimental plots at 5 of these sites. These results suggest that social attraction has the potential for use in black-fronted tern conservation by drawing breeding terns into habitat that has added predator or habitat management.