Severe tick infestation in seabird colonies causes discomfort in reproductive adults, offspring mortality, and nest abandonment. This study used time-lapse cameras to examine the relationship between Ornithodoros amblus tick infestation and Peruvian Booby Sula variegata nest abandonment in four locations along the Peruvian coast between August 2016 and November 2018. The percent occurrence of discomfort in nesting birds (preening and standing on the nest) recorded by the cameras was used as an indicator of tick infestation. The tick density insideand outside the abandoned colonies was also evaluated. In five of the six colonies, complete nest abandonment occurred over an interval of two to three weeks. The percent occurrence of discomfort behavior was exponentially related to the percentage of nest abandonment, indicating that reproductive failure was related to tick hyperinfestation. Th...

This study was supported by Fondo Nacio-nal de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica (FONDECYT–Perú) within the ‘‘Proyecto de Mejoramiento y Ampliación de los Servicios del Sistema Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica’’ [contract: 08-2019-FONDE-CYT-BM-INC-INV’’], and by the Programa Nacional de Innovación en Pesca y Acuicul-tura and the Universidad Científica del Sur through the project ‘‘Aves Marinas como Centinelas del Mar: Uso de video-cámaras/ GPS en piqueros para monitorear actividades pesqueras ilícitas en el Perú (PNIPA-PES-SIADE-PP-000169)’’.