Seychelles Warbler Research Group

The Seychelles Warbler is a world-famous example of how science and conservation can go hand-in-hand. This endemic bird provides an exceptional, natural system in which to study important questions relating to animal health, evolution, and ecology.

Working in conjunction with Nature Seychelles, research on the Seychelles warbler is led by Profs. David Richardson (University of East Anglia, UK), Jan Komdeur (University of Groningen, the Netherlands), Terry Burke (University of Sheffield, UK) and Dr Hannah Dugdale (University of Leeds). Jan Komdeur has been working on the Seychelles warbler since 1988 and, with BirdLife International, was instrumental in their translocation to Aride and Cousine. Since 1997 David Richardson has been running the fieldwork and managed this component of the warbler translocations to Denis and Fregate Islands. Thus the warbler’s conservation is also a key part of the groups work. Learn more: http://seychelles-warbler-project.group.shef.ac.uk/

Continuous intensive monitoring and research spanning over 30 has allowed the team to investigate many aspects in the warbler, including:

The evolution and ecology of cooperative breeding

• Inbreeding problems and inbreeding avoidance
• Mate choice and infidelity
• Disease resistance
• The causes and consequences of ageing
• The genomic impact of translocations

The Seychelles Warbler Research Group has given scientific and public talks both locally and throughout the world and has published more than 80 papers in leading journals on aspects of the warblers’ biology. This is now the most extensive, productive and high-profile research program to be undertaken on an island bird.

For information and an exhaustive catalogue of the research: 

See the Research Group’s page at the University of Sheffield