On Rota, the Mariana Crow population on Rota is seeing promising numbers.  with biologists who share how the pandemic is impacting their operations. Here's more.

"Our goal is to understand, and conserve, and increase the population of Mariana Crows on Rota. It is a species that is unique to Rota and Guam. It is an important heritage of the people," Sarah Faegre said. 

Faegre is a field supervisor and co-investigator of the Mariana Crow Recovery Project, working through the University of Washington. Her team, in collaboration with local agencies, has studied the bird for years on Rota.



"We are now at a point where the remaining population is entirely on Rota," she said. "We believe there are around 200 individuals living in the wild on Rota." 

Research scientist Henry Fandel said that while milestones have been reached, there still is work to be done.

"We are still very much trying to understand precisely what happened," he said. "There is a lot of evidence that shows that there is an ongoing fungus that has created systemic infection in the Aga, specifically young Aga that leads to high rates of mortality."

He said the introduction of feral cats is also a cause for population decline. The project surveys the 80 different areas they live in on Rota, looks for nests, band the birds for identification, and track them with small radio backpacks. After years of stagnation, they are seeing promising results.

"Right now we are about 20 pairs shy of a sustainable level on Rota and there isn't a second population right now so we are working very hard on reaching those goals," Fandel said. 

Having a second population would fill the requirements that define sustainability. They're also working on a grant for a translocation plan.


"This translocation plan would essentially be addressing the feasibility of different options for which island we could use for the second population of Aga and I think that will consider the challenges and the benefits of both Guam and the Northern Islands.," Faegre said. 

The program has been relatively safe from the pandemic as most of their small team already works in isolation. But it comes at a cost.

"We have recently been dealing with the concern of the costs of quarantine for new technicians that we bring in either from the mainland or even Guam," Faegre said. "We know that we are going to be hiring locals. We are interested in considering UOG students but bringing in new people from Guam through the quarantine is an expense we did not budget for so we are now seeking an additional grant to ensure that we can still hire all of the staff we need to complete our work."

That work, she says, comes with a deep sense of responsibility.

Crow1_sot: 2:08 "This is the Aga of the Mariana Islands, of Rota and Guam. And I want that ownership of the natural resources to be taken back by the people." 2:19