Araripe Manakin Project A member of the Araripe Manakin Project team desperately trying to keep the flames away from a nest Zoom In

Conservation team in forest fire heroics

18-05-2005

A BP Conservation Programme team was forced to tackle forest fires to protect nests of Araripe Manakins Antilophia bokermanni. Happily nobody was harmed in the blaze, which threatened seven manakin nests, all of which survived although chick fledging success was poor.

“It was frightening at times, but we stuck to our task because we were so involved in studying the manakins’ nesting behaviour. We couldn’t bear to stand by and watch them perish in the flames,” said team leader Weber Silva.

In 2004, Silva’s team received a BP Conservation Award to study the ecological requirements of the Araripe Manakin, a Critically Endangered species restricted to the Chapada do Araripe, a tiny area of north-eastern Brazil. It was first found and described in 1998 by Silva and is believed to number fewer than 250 individuals.

Araripe Manakin Project An adult male Araripe Manakin Zoom In

"Last August, we became the first people ever to find a nest of this species and we’ve since found a further 17 nests and documented the birds’ entire reproductive cycle." —Weber Silva, Conservation of the Araripe Manakin Project

The birds live on the slopes of the chapada (plateau), and females build their nests in short vegetation directly above water springs. As such, the presence of manakins is an excellent indicator of environmental quality. However, the chapada region is under intense pressure to be developed for holiday homes; even the manakin’s type locality is nowadays a recreational park.

“It’s important local people appreciate the importance of the area for biodiversity. Protecting the Araripe Manakin will ensure the health of the local environment, and secure the integrity of an important watershed,” says Silva.