2-3-6-ci-frigate-bird-findings-factsheet_v2

The Christmas Island frigatebird 
breeds only on Christmas Island 
and is listed as Endangered under 
the EPBC Act, and listed globally as 
Critically Endangered. The species is 
one of the most threatened species 
on Parks Australia’s estate and is a 
specially listed priority bird species 
in the Australian Government’s 
Threatened Species Strategy. 
To provide guidance to Parks 
Australia and other caretakers of 
this species, this project held a 
workshop in March 2018 involving 
national and international experts 
to collate information about the 
threats and population trajectory of 
the frigatebird and to propose future 
research and management priorities.
The recommendations of the 
workshop informed a new 
conservation advice for the species, 
and have informed direction for the 
ongoing management, monitoring 
and research requirements necessary 
for its long-term conservation.  
Research and management priorities for the  
Christmas Island frigatebird  
Summary of outcomes from workshop, Canberra, 8 March 2018
In brief
Science for Saving Species
Research findings factsheet
Project 2.3.6
A Christmas Island frigatebird.  
Image: Shah Jahan, CC BY-SA 3.0  
Wikimedia Commons
Project aim
What happened
To support the conservation and 
recovery of the Christmas Island 
frigatebird, the project aimed to:
• draw together knowledge  
on population trends and  
their main drivers;
• identify the main current and 
potential future threats and  
how to mitigate or eliminate 
those threats; 
• identify priority monitoring and 
management actions; and 
• support the development  
of a conservation advice  
or recovery plan.
A workshop brought together 
experts from Australia and Indonesia 
with an interest in and knowledge of 
the frigatebird. The workshop was 
held in Canberra on 8 March 2018 
and some participants attended 
remotely (phone or video calls). 
The organisations involved in the 
workshop include:
• Australian Government 
Department of Agriculture 
Water and Environment, 
including: 
• Director of National Parks (Parks 
Australia)
• Charles Darwin University
• The University of Melbourne
• The University of Hamburg 
• CSIRO
• Australasian Seabird Group
• Seabirds Indonesia (Burung  
Laut Indonesia)  
• Government of Indonesia
A juvenile Christmas Island frigatebird. 
Image: Shah Jahan, CC BY-SA 3.0  
Wikimedia Commons

Actions Identified
Threat matrix
Priority actions identified through 
the workshop include:
Species champion
Parks Australia will coordinate 
efforts to understand and conserve 
the frigatebird. This could usefully 
include developing a program logic 
for activities relating to the species 
conservation.
Conservation Advice
DAWE Migratory Species Section is 
driving development of conservation 
advices on several Christmas Island 
taxa including the Christmas Island 
frigatebird. The advice will include 
recommendations for future 
ongoing monitoring of the breeding 
population on Christmas Island
Monitoring
i. Establish a group to guide 
monitoring and provide  
statistical guidance. 
ii. Determine how many adults  
and immatures can be “lost”  
each year under a range of 
realistic assumptions about life 
history parameters (Potential 
Biological Removal analysis).
iii. To establish and monitor 
population trends, determine 
how often and in what detail 
monitoring data should be 
collected to indicate trends in 
either the population or  
breeding success. 
iv. Test unmanned aerial vehicles 
(drones) to determine 
effectiveness at providing an 
index of abundance or even 
a count of nests within the 
breeding colony, compare  
the effectiveness with ground-
based methods.
v. Review analysis and reporting 
of 2003–05 nest count data to 
establish baseline.
vi. Determine which life history 
parameters would yield the 
greatest value for monitoring 
effort expended.
vii. Undertake a one-day survey of 
the north coast from a boat in 
late April or May (when males 
have inflated gular pouches) to 
determine if a new CIFB colony 
is establishing there and the 
approximate scale of the colony.  
Food availability in non-breeding 
areas
Investigate potential for research 
on diet adequacy of frigatebirds 
in Jakarta Bay, potentially utilising 
fishing poles to weigh birds. 
Feather analysis 
i. Investigate whether pollutants 
are impacting birds, particularly 
the potential for cadmium in 
drinking water on Christmas 
Island or high levels of mercury 
in fish in coastal feeding areas. 
ii. Genetic analysis can inform 
estimates of total population 
size through a form of capture 
mark recapture analysis. Genetic 
markers are not yet available 
for this species, but feather 
collection, noting time and 
place, could be established now 
as a resource for future analysis. 
Roost sites across South-East Asia
Inventory the population size, 
location and condition of roost sites 
in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines 
and Sabah, Malaysia and the key 
threats they face. 
Survey of non-breeding sites
Establish the best time and 
frequency for surveys in Jakarta Bay 
ensuring adequate statistical power 
to detect changes in abundance 
over time. Investigate funding 
sources for these surveys.
Threats on Christmas Island 
Parks Australia to investigate the 
occurrence of threats (such as mine 
site pools, bird strike on overhead 
wires, disturbance from burning on 
the golf course and weed invasion), 
their proximity to the breeding 
colonies and their impacts (such  
as broken wings and dead birds)  
and then assess the impact on  
the population. 
New disease
Development and implement  
a quarantine policy.
Hunting at Jakarta Bay 
Ensure compliance with wildlife 
protection laws at the main  
roost sites.
Table 1 presents a threat matrix for 
the species. Threat impacts were 
assessed using the IUCN Red List 
measures of threat impact. The 
priorities emerge from combining 
threat impact scores with scores for 
progress in managing the threats. 
Climate change, temperature 
extremes, shifts in food as a result 
of ocean warming and mine dust 
were previously suspected to be 
threats but are now considered of 
limited or no significant impact.
Since the workshop, this threat list 
has been further refined during the 
development of the Conservation 
Advice and drafting of a species 
summary for the Action Plan for 
Australian Birds 2020.

Table 1: Threat matrix for the Christmas Island frigatebird. The table includes confidence and consequences results from a complementary 
workshop facilitated by Sylvana Maas, formerly of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Migratory Species Section, 
Biodiversity Conservation Division.
Threat type Confidence Consequences Timing1 Extent2 Severity3 Potential threat 
impact and rank
Tourism and recreation 
areas (clearing of habitat 
for golf course)
No longer considered a threat Distant 
future
1-50% of range Not negligible 
but <20%
Low 8
Utility & service lines 
(bird strike)
Likely Minor Continuing/
ongoing
<1% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 15
Hunting (in non-
breeding areas)
Almost 
certain
Minor Continuing/
ongoing
50-90% of range Not negligible 
but <20%
Low 2
Unknown fishing 
(bycatch from 
recreational fishing)
Almost 
certain
Minor Continuing/
ongoing
50-90% of range 20-29% Medium 1
Unintentional effects  
of small scale fishing 
(prey depletion)
Almost 
certain
Moderate Continuing/
ongoing
50-90% of range Not negligible 
but <20%
Low 2
Disturbance: Work & 
other activities (burning 
off in golf course)
Possible Moderate Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Not negligible 
but <20%
Low 6
Small dams (Drowning  
& Injury in artificial  
water sources)
Almost 
certain
Minor Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 11
Weeds (invasive vines - 
breeding area)
Possible Minor Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 11
Weeds (invasive vines - 
non-breeding roost sites)
Almost 
certain
Minor Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range 20-29% Low 4
Yellow crazy ant 
Anoplolepis gracilipes
No longer considered a threat Continuing/
ongoing
<1% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Low 15
Invasive species 
(unknown disease)
Possible Major Near future 1-50% of range 20-29% Low 5
Seepage from mining 
(Cadmium)
Unknown Moderate Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 11
Seepage from mining 
(Mercury)
Unknown Moderate Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 11
Garbage and solid  
waste (plastics)
Unknown Moderate Continuing/
ongoing
50-90% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 10
Mine dust No longer considered a threat Continuing/
ongoing
1-50% of range Not negligible 
but <20%
Low 6
Shift in distribution of 
food
No longer considered a threat Distant 
future
<1% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 17
Temperature extremes No longer considered a threat Distant 
future
<1% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Low 17
Storms & flooding No longer considered a threat Continuing/
ongoing
>90% of range Negligible 
declines (<1%)
Negligible 9
1TIMING: Continuing/ongoing (includes former threat no longer causing impact but likely to be occurring had there been no 
management); near future: any occurrence probable within one generation; distant future: any occurrence likely to be further 
than one generation into the future (includes former threat no longer causing impact and unlikely to recur). 
2EXTENT: The percentage of the existing range directly affected by the threat in question, now, in the past or within the next  
10 years or three generations, whichever is longer. 
3SEVERITY: Over the whole existing population, what rate of decline would it cause without management (over 10 years or 
three generations, whichever is longer).

This project is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program.
Cite this publication as NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub. 2021. Research and management priorities for the 
Christmas Island frigatebird, Research findings factsheet.
The Christmas Island frigatebird has 
long been identified as a species 
requiring targeted conservation 
attention. This workshop has 
assembled all the people with 
an interest in the species and 
knowledge of the threats to discuss 
research and management needs 
for the first time. 
The most significant achievement 
of the workshop was reaching 
agreement on priority issues and 
actions and identification of relevant 
organisations to lead those actions 
subject to resources being available. 
It became apparent during 
discussions that many of the threats 
previously identified or mooted 
were probably not particularly 
severe and any decline in the 
number of breeding pairs is likely  
to be gradual. Also encouraging  
was the range of good ideas on 
how to tackle research questions 
that need to be answered if  
threats are to be managed.
The findings of the workshop 
have been critical in informing a 
Conservation Advice for the species. 
Together with other conservation 
planning for Christmas Island the 
Conservation Advice will guide 
future policy with respect  
to managing the frigatebird.
The workshop also initiated a 
number of new management 
and research collaborations both 
on Christmas Island and in non-
breeding habitat in Indonesia. 
Christmas Island frigatebirds spend 
the non-breeding period in heavily 
populated coastal seas in South-East 
Asia. One concern for population 
viability is availability of prey during 
this non-breeding period but there 
is a general lack of knowledge 
about this. 
In Jakarta Bay, Indonesia, the 
frigatebirds utilise tall bamboo poles, 
which are part of fishing gear in 
the region, for roosting overnight 
and during the day for roosting 
and social interaction (particularly 
among juveniles). 
This behaviour offers a unique 
non-invasive sampling opportunity 
to investigate prey availability and 
foraging success by attaching small 
waterproof weight loggers to the 
top of fishing poles. Measuring daily 
weight changes can be used as 
an indicator of foraging success in 
non-breeding habitat. 
Although birds do not return to the 
same pole each time, attaching 
10–20 weighing devices on poles 
would provide a sufficiently large 
sample size for robust analysis and 
conclusions. The devices could be 
deployed continuously over the 
breeding season or in bursts several 
times across the breeding season. 
This research will provide insight 
into relative foraging success 
over a season, and in time, across 
years and offers the potential for 
new conservation and population 
management responses.
This research proposal was put 
forward in partnership by scientists 
from Seabirds Indonesia (Burung 
Laut Indonesia) and CSIRO.  
Outcomes Measuring feeding success in non-breeding habitat in 
Indonesia
Further Information  
Stephen Garnett - [EMAIL] 
John Woinarski - [EMAIL]
Workshop participants.