Key challenge
The habitat on the islands, particularly for the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), has been severely degraded by centuries of guano harvesting. Penguins can no longer nest in burrows. This means that birds, eggs and chicks are exposed to sun and heat and are more vulnerable to predation. Nests are more prone to disturbance and damage by seals. Consequently, breeding success has been substantially reduced.
What do we want to do?
Artificial burrows / nest boxes have been used successfully to improve African Penguin breeding success. The nest box design needs to meet a number of criteria to be suitable, and various nest box designs have been put to the test over several decades. A company in the United States is currently testing a new design and we will test some of these on Namibia's seabird islands and monitor nest box acceptance and breeding success. The project may be expanded if they are found to be effective.
