Management and Conservation

It has been made a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to protect it from development.

It is made up of heath and bog.

Main threats:

• Disturbances due to humans e.g. dogs loose and disturb ground-nesting birds
• Pollution leading to nutrient enrichment which allows more vigorous plant species to out-compete rarer ones.
• Drop in ground water levels, lose plant species adapted to wet ground.

The aim in this area is to maintain and hopefully increase biodiversity and restore former heathland.

e.g. trees colonise areas so these are reclaimed by removing them and allowing heath to recolonise.

These islands are very small and are full of endemic species.

Threats:

• Growing human population leading to large amounts of rubbish being dumped.
• Overfishing e.g. of sea cucumbers. Now under threat of extinction.
• Tourism increases threats and encourages population growth due to more jobs being created.
• Exotic species being introduced e.g. feral goats eating vegetation and therefore outcompeting tortoises. Feral dogs eat the tortoises and rats eat their eggs.

Conservation Projects:

• Destroyed all the feral goats on the islands (use of Judas goats)
• Captured and bred tortoises from the Espanola island as there were only 14 left. Have so far released over 100 offspring back.