STATUS, BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF THE BLACK TERN - SYMPOSIUM SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW

This paper summarizes a symposium on the status, biology and managemen t of the Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) in North America, with 1 summar y paper from Europe. Most studies of the Black Tern have been conducte d on its breeding grounds in freshwater marshes of western Europe or e astern North America. The species is a more numerous breeder, however, in other parts of Europe and North America and spends much of the yea r on salt water in the tropics. Although the Black Tern does not appea r to be critically endangered in the USA or Canada, its numbers have d eclined considerably during the second half of the twentieth century ( especially in the 1960s and 1970s), and its status is now precarious i n many parts of eastern North America. Much more information on popula tion trends, breeding success, foraging, behavioral ecology, and metap opulation dynamics will be needed for effective management. Studies al ready conducted in Europe provide good examples of what might be achie ved in North America.