Migrant birds
Around 39 million birds leave the UK's shores each autumn bound for Africa. The conditions they encounter control the numbers of birds returning each spring to breed and fill the countryside with bird song. Some of these species are an important part of the UK's "character" including such charismatic species as Cuckoo, Turtle dove and Yellow wagtail. However, numbers of these species are in freefall, with spectacular declines in many including;

• Yellow wagtail DOWN 70%
• Sedge warbler DOWN 33%
• Turtle dove DOWN 82%
• Cuckoo DOWN 67%
• Tree pipit DOWN 83%
• Whitethroat DOWN 62%
• Wood warbler DOWN 60%
• Willow warbler DOWN 60%
• Spotted flycatcher DOWN 87% in England

Most of the above declines have occurred in less than 40 years, although the disturbing decline of 60% in Wood warblers has occurred in only 10 years! Worryingly, the rate of decline appears to be growing for many species.

The declines should come as no surprise as they have happened before. Many migrants from Europe are dependent on conditions on the arid area to the South of the Sahara desert known as the Sahel region. During a drought in the Sahel in 1968, the population of Whitethroats nesting in the in UK declined by 77% in one year. Numbers of Sand martins showed a similar decline and suffered further reductions following another drought in 1983-4. Although there have been no recent severe droughts on the scale of the 1968 drought (which killed 100,000-250,000 people and led to the migration of 5.5 million people), the area is getting drier, with a decline in rainfall of 30% in the last 30 years. Models of global weather patterns predict that rainfall in the Sahel region will continue to decrease rapidly and that droughts will become more frequent and severe in nature.

Yellow wagtail on breeding grounds in Cumbria, UK
© Darren Robson/Project Gambia

Whitethroat
© Darren Robson/Project Gambia

Sedge warbler
© Darren Robson/Project Gambia

Sand martins
© Darren Robson/Project Gambia

Turtle doves at Abuko
© Dr Owen Nevin/Project Gambia

West African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis)
This species is the rarest of the world's three species of manatee and is classified as "Vulnerable" by IUCN, listed on Appendix II of CITES and Appendix II of convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (CMS).

This species is poorly understood and has the unfortunate attributes of being a large, relatively slow-swimming, highly edible species whose entire world range is in an area with desperate poverty and often poor legal protection of wildlife. This is reflected in the CMS citation which states that populations are threatened throughout the species' entire range by "continuing uncontrolled and likely unsustainable hunting".

In The Gambia, Powell (1996) found that populations had crashed, as reflected in the numbers caught "For example, at one point in the 1930's as many as 12 manatees a day were caught in a 100-mile stretch of the Gambia River, whereas only two per year were estimated taken in the same area for the period 1978-83". Powell also identified 8 areas critical for the survival of this species. One of these includes the Saloum delta in Senegal which is borders Niumi National Park. Interviews with fishermen have confirmed that the Saloum manatees use the Gambian waters around Niumi and are therefore of international importance in supporting this species.

In the CMS citation, William Perrin notes "In summary, this species is much reduced and still declining, due to both hunting and habitat destruction. It exists in many scattered and likely isolated populations. There is much work to be done to prevent extinction of many or all of these populations."

Manatees have become a major eco-tourism attraction in Florida. Their potential role in Africa in preserving entire ecosystems has been highlighted by Dodman, T. (1999) in "West African manatee: a flagship species for wetlands? Wetlands 8:18."

During a preliminary visit To Ginak in 2005, a former manatee poacher was interviewed by Dr Roy Armstrong and Dr Owen Nevin. He confirmed that manatees were still present in the area and that he would be willing to join Project Gambia and act as a guide and assistant in the proposed research. The manatees are extremely shy as a result of years of persecution throughout West Africa. Through protection, feeding and the creation of "quiet" areas it should be possible to create an area where manatees could be viewed reliably. This would offer a major financial boost to a chronically impoverished area through the attraction of eco-tourists. It would also give local people a major incentive for conserving this species.

Monk Seal (Monachus monachus)
The "Critically Endangered" Mediterranean monk seal is the world's most rarest seal, with less than 600 (perhaps 400) individuals left. There are two widely separated but potentially viable populations: one on the Atlantic coast of North Africa and the other in Greece and Turkey (Aegean and Ionian Seas).

In May-July 1997 there was a mass mortality of Mediterranean monk seals at the important colony on the Cap Blanc Peninsula, Mauritania/Western Sahara, claiming the lives of over 70% of the population, mostly adults and sub-adults, and reducing numbers at the colony from an estimated 310 to less than 90. There have been conflicting opinions as to whether the cause of the mortality was a toxic "red tide" or a newly-found virus that was found in some of the dead seals. This mass mortality could have a profound effect on the species' survival since the Cap Blanc colony was the largest population of Mediterranean monk seals and the only one to possess the actual social and numerical structure of a colony.

The status of the monk seal in The Gambia is poorly understood, however individuals have been recorded by reliable observers in the area around the Bijol Islands and Ginak Island. In view of the critical status of this species, the presence of any individuals is of great importance.

Atlantic Humpback Dolphin (Sousa teuszii)
Atlantic Humpback dolphins are known to regularly occur in Gambian waters, especially around Ginak. This species is globally very rare and the importance of the Gambian population is summarised in "A survey of the Conservation Status of Cetaceans in Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau (Final Report WAFCET 1 Project, September 2000). "The Saloum delta (including Sine, Saloum, Diombos and Bandiala), part of which constitutes Senegal's Parc National du Saloum, the adjacent waters of The Gambia's Niumi National Park and the outer estuary of the Gambia river constitute a major refuge area for Atlantic hump-backed dolphins and deserve the highest possible protection. If further work confirms the precarious status of this species, an Appendix 1 listing on the CMS* Convention will be necessary"

Conversations with fishermen from Niumi National Park have confirmed that this species is present in the area and that it would be possible to perform our proposed research in this area. From the research it should be possible to identify areas where this species could be reliably observed. This could lead to targeted eco-tourism away from the holiday resorts.

Marine turtles
Five of the world's eight marine turtle species are thought to use the waters around The Gambia. Of these, only the Green turtle Chelonia mydas is known to breed. Nesting is known from the Atlantic coast in the south (including very small numbers on the Bijol Islands) and Niumi national park on the North Bank. The numbers involved appear to be very low in view of the apparent suitability of habitat (although surveys by Project Gambia in 2006 suggest that suitable areas may be limited on Ginak as a result of recent coastal erosion). This is also true of the species diversity with suitable nesting habitat available for all of the other four species known to occur in the area. Conversations with local fishermen suggest that other species may well nest. Direct exploitation has been observed including the use of Olive Ridley and Green turtles as a decorated ornaments for sale to tourists. Fishermen also indicated that the eggs are taken for human consumption and that in most years, this predation results in no young turtles surviving. This scenario is not uncommon and is one of the main contributory causes to the dramatic declines observed in turtle populations around the world. The problem can be remedied by establishing protected nesting grounds and/or a hatchery. This entails purchasing the eggs from fishermen and "planting" them in a protected area. This is not an expensive process and on earlier projects involving the Project Gambia team, the full funding has come from public donations. Hatcheries are a considerable draw to eco-tourists and the establishment of one in a suitable local community would ensure the survival of turtles in The Gambia and would contribute to the economy of an area away from the main tourist strip.

Green Turtle on nesting beach
© Dr Roy Armstrong/Project Gambia