7 thoughts on “Saipan White-eye (Zosterops saypani): Revise global status?”
I agree with the proposed status change. Reliable survey data on this species indicate it is not in decline and the existence of populations elsewhere reduce the risk of extinction. The brown tree snake is always looming but off-island populations provide confidence in any decision to downlist.
I mostly agree with the proposed downlisting. Populations of this species have long been strong and at least stable (if not increasing). The main threat to this species would be the brown tree snake (BTS). With effective interdiction efforts on Guam and all relevant CNMI island, the threat of BTS to these islands is diminished; it is not entirely removed, however. There hasn’t been a confirmed BTS sighting on Saipan since 2000 and the last highly credible sighting there was in 2006; there have only been 6 sightings between 2000 and 2019. As far as I know, there has been no sightings of BTS on Tinian. However, the US military intends to increase their presence and activity on the island on the not too distant future, with many supplies coming from Guam and routine transport of troops and equipment from there to Tinian. While this would obviously increase the threat of the BTS on Tinian, the modifications to habitat made by the military could likewise have negative consequences for native species on the island.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 21 February 2022. We will now analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’s Red List status on this page on 21 February 2022, when discussions will re-open.
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2022.1 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 27 February 2022, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2022.1 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in July 2022, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
While the population of Saipan White-eye is stable in the CNMI (and the introduced population on Sarigan has been growing), the accidental introduction of the Brown Tree snake onto Saipan and Tinian is still a major concern.
Continuing severe weather events (likely due to global climate change), increases the introduction of the BTS to these islands – likely to occur during emergency response to natural disasters – where human need is critical and BTS inspection of relief supplies does not occur as thoroughly due to the need for speedy response.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a final decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 7 March 2022.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Saipan White-eye is recommended to be listed as Near Threatened, approaching the thresholds for listing as threatened under Criteria B1a+2a; D2.
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2022.1 GTB Forum process. The final 2022.1 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in July 2022, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
I agree with the proposed status change. Reliable survey data on this species indicate it is not in decline and the existence of populations elsewhere reduce the risk of extinction. The brown tree snake is always looming but off-island populations provide confidence in any decision to downlist.
I mostly agree with the proposed downlisting. Populations of this species have long been strong and at least stable (if not increasing). The main threat to this species would be the brown tree snake (BTS). With effective interdiction efforts on Guam and all relevant CNMI island, the threat of BTS to these islands is diminished; it is not entirely removed, however. There hasn’t been a confirmed BTS sighting on Saipan since 2000 and the last highly credible sighting there was in 2006; there have only been 6 sightings between 2000 and 2019. As far as I know, there has been no sightings of BTS on Tinian. However, the US military intends to increase their presence and activity on the island on the not too distant future, with many supplies coming from Guam and routine transport of troops and equipment from there to Tinian. While this would obviously increase the threat of the BTS on Tinian, the modifications to habitat made by the military could likewise have negative consequences for native species on the island.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 21 February 2022. We will now analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’s Red List status on this page on 21 February 2022, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary proposal
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2022.1 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classifications outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 27 February 2022, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2022.1 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in July 2022, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
While the population of Saipan White-eye is stable in the CNMI (and the introduced population on Sarigan has been growing), the accidental introduction of the Brown Tree snake onto Saipan and Tinian is still a major concern.
Continuing severe weather events (likely due to global climate change), increases the introduction of the BTS to these islands – likely to occur during emergency response to natural disasters – where human need is critical and BTS inspection of relief supplies does not occur as thoroughly due to the need for speedy response.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested by so many people in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the new information, and we will post a final decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 7 March 2022.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Saipan White-eye is recommended to be listed as Near Threatened, approaching the thresholds for listing as threatened under Criteria B1a+2a; D2.
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2022.1 GTB Forum process. The final 2022.1 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in July 2022, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.