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Greater Flamingo population dynamics

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Greater Flamingo population dynamics

Objectives

The aim of this project is to identify the mechanisms that affect the dynamics of the Greater Flamingo, throughout the Mediterranean and West Africa, which is most of its range. We are particularly interested in the causes of individual variations in dispersion or migration, as well as the effects of global changes on this flagship species found in Mediterranean wetlands.

Actions and methodology

This project is based on a long-term study initiated in 1977 by Alan Johnson. Every summer, almost a thousand Greater Flamingo chicks born in the Camargue are ringed by the Tour du Valat just before they take flight, using remote-readable PVC rings. This ringing programme has now been integrated into the International Network for the study and conservation of the Greater Flamingo [1].

The Tour du Valat now has from a database that is unique in its field, which in 2017 contained nearly 700,000 sightings of more than 60,000 flamingos ringed in the Mediterranean. We combine demographic, genetic, parasitological, and ecotoxicological approaches to understand how local and global factors affect the breeding and survival of the Greater Flamingo.

Results

Thanks to the actions undertaken by the Tour du Valat since as far back as the 1970s, the Camargue has once again become a major nesting site for the species at the scale of its Mediterranean range. The main results of the work carried out on the species are summarised in the Sciences & Management thematic brochure (in French), which can be downloaded free of charge in the “Find out more” section below.

You can support this programme by adopting a Flamingo (click here [2]).

Team

Partners

Technical Partners

 Financial Partners

Latest publications

Brochures and books

Scientific papers