Roseate Tern
(Sterna dougallii)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

Roseate Terns, an endangered species in Canada (COSEWIC 2009g), breed almost exclusively in Nova Scotia with small, peripheral colonies extending to Quebec's Magdalene Islands. A large decline in abundance appears to have occurred since the early 1970s and the number of occupied colonies has declined. However, the number of terns breeding in Canada has remained relatively stable since the late 1980s, when regular surveys began. Active management in Canada and the United States has been successful at maintaining, and in some places restoring, the abundance of Roseate Terns, but conservation challenges remain. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• COSEWIC: Canadian Roseate Tern Breeding Locations
• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Predation by Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and other predators (including owls, night-herons, and mink) is a significant factor limiting the productivity of Roseate Terns in Canada. The large gulls also displace terns from otherwise suitable nesting areas (Environment Canada 2010a). The population’s restricted distribution makes it vulnerable to localised threats such as human development, catastrophic weather events (Nisbet and Spendelow 1999, Lebreton et al. 2003), pollution and disease. Recovery priorities for this species include maintaining and enhancing nesting productivity, and conserving or restoring existing and potential colonies for the benefit of all terns (Environment Canada 2010a). In the United States, the northeastern population was listed as Threatened in 1987 (USFWS 1987). Breeding sites in both Canada and the northeast United States are managed to control predators, and to maintain or restore vegetation and habitat (Nisbet et al. 2014). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view the Recovery Strategy, see the SARA Registry.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• COSEWIC. 2009g. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 48 pp. COSEWIC. 2009g. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 48 pp. (Link)
• Environment Canada. 2010a. Amended Recovery Strategy for the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada. Ottawa. vii + 36 pp. Environment Canada. 2010a. Amended Recovery Strategy for the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada. Ottawa. vii + 36 pp. (Link)
• Lebreton, J.D., J.E. Hines, R. Pradel, J.D. Nichols and J.A. Spendelow. 2003. Estimation by capture-recapture of recruitment and dispersal over several sites. Oikos 101:253-264.
• Lock, A.R. 1971. Census of seabirds nesting in Nova Scotia, May 18 to June 30, 1971. Unpublished report, Canadian Wildlife Service, Dartmouth, NS. 46 pp.
• Nisbet, I.C., M. Gochfeld, and J. Burger. 2014. Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Nisbet, I.C., M. Gochfeld, and J. Burger. 2014. Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Nisbet, I.C.T. and J.A. Spendelow. 1999. Contribution of research to management and recovery of the Roseate Tern: review of a twelve-year project. Waterbirds 22:239-252.
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 1987. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; determination: two populations of the Roseate Tern and Bonamia grandiflora (Florida bonamia), Final Rules. U.S. Federal Register 52:211:42064-42071.