STATUS, CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE SCARLET IBIS EUDOCIMUS-RUBER IN THE CARONI SWAMP, TRINIDAD, WEST-INDIES

Although scarlet ibises Eudocimus ruber formerly bred in the Caroni Swamp in northwestern Trinidad, they have not done so since 1970. Even so, they continue to feed and roost in the swamp outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season, however, most adults leave the island, presumably to nest at colony sites in South America. Although numerous causes, including changes in habitat, have been suggested for the lack of nesting, none has been linked directly to the consistent failure of ibises to breed at the site. Freshwater wetland losses in the region have been extensive. Almost all seasonally flooded wetlands east of the swamp have been drained or are in rice production, and most former freshwater wetlands within the swamp are now brackish. Here, this paper (1) reports on the status of ibises in the Caroni Swamp; (2) documents the extent of saltwater intrusion in the area; (3) describes a link between the loss of freshwater feeding sites and the lack of ibis breeding; (4) suggests a strategy for re-establishing a breeding population of ibises in the Caroni Swamp; and (5) makes recommendations concerning other coastal populations of ibises. © 1990.