At-sea movements of Masked Boobies from Pedro Cays, Jamaica, 2012

As part of a larger effort to examine individual-based movement patterns and habitat use at sea for seabirds in the Caribbean, a tracking study of Masked Boobies (Sula dactylatra) breeding on the Pedro Cays, Jamaica, was implemeted in 2012. This population is one of the largest of the few breeding groups in the region. The Masked Booby is considered to be declining and regionally-threatened with ca. 500-700 nests in the West Indies. This species faces numerous conservation threats at colony sites and potentally at foraging grounds. Management could be enhanced if data were available regaridng foraging ranges during the breeding season as well as extent of the wintering range. Therefore, the goal of this pilot project was to gather data on individual movement patterns of Masked Boobies breeding at Pedro Cays, Jamaica.