Programme Coordinator – Roman Anoshin, Moscow Zoo, Russia
The Pelecanidae family includes 8 species. Two species are distributed in Russia: the Dalmatian pelican (Pelicanus crispus) and the great white pelican (Pelicanus onocrotal). Both species are included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as rare, while the Dalmatian pelican is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Vulnerable. The range of the pelicans in Russia is extensive but their distribution has a patchy pattern. There is a tendency towards decreasing in both the numbers of birds and areas suitable for establishing nesting colonies of these species, which is most likely attributable to the water shortage in arid regions that are usually inhabited by pelicans and the resulting reduction in territories suitable for nesting, decrease in the basin food capacity, and reduction in their areas. At the same time, the dispersal of pelicans to the north is limited by the duration of their breeding season.
Goal of the programme:
Creation of a reserve ex situ population of pelicans for their potential reintroduction in native habitats for the conservation of the wild populations of these two species.
- coordination of and participation in the monitoring of the nesting, migrant and wintering aggregations of birds from the South-East European and West Asian wild populations of Dalmatian pelicans (in cooperation with specialized institutions and organizations);
- collection of data on the structures of colonies, reproductive and other types of behaviour, and offspring rearing for their use as a theoretical basis for modelling the colony of Pelecaniformes in artificial environment;
- research into biological characteristics of the Dalmatian pelican and the great white pelican in the Rostovsky State Nature Reserve (Rostov Oblast);
- further development and testing of the pelican ex situ breeding methods for developing techniques of establishing reserve populations of Dalmatian and great white pelicans;
- establishing a colony of pelicans (and cormorants) at the Moscow Zoo’s Center for Reproduction of Rare Animal Species (Volokolamsky region, Moscow Oblast), taking into account both the data obtained in the course of field studies and experience of European zoos;
- review of the information obtained in the course of field studies, collation of data from regional ornithologists on the distribution and numbers of pelicans within the Russian part of the range, preparation of relevant scientific and methodological materials on the biology of pelicans (modelling natural habitats in captive environment in zoos and breeding centres; assessment of the impact of limiting factors and developing approaches to minimizing negative effects) and issuing recommendations for the protection and reproduction of rare species of Pelecaniformes;
- participation in the Pelicans of Russia conservation education programme;
- establishing cooperation of the coordinator of the programme with programme participants (zoos and breeding centres), as well as with coordinator and participants of the International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus.
