Endangered Species- Balearic Shearwaterby Arushi Madan | 15-10-2017 03:22 |
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   Dear all, I would like to take this opportunity of using this month's topic 'Endangered species' and share with you details about one of the most critically endangered species of Europe. It is called 'Balearic Shearwater'. Its scientific name is 'Puffinus mauretanicus'. Its status is CR (Critically Endangered) in Europe Red list, EU27 Red list as well as in IUCN Red list. This grey/brown bird is one of the rarest sea birds in the world, and unfortunately holds the No 1 spot for being Britain?s only critically endangered, making it a very important bird also because it is only found in Europe. This species, endemic to Europe and the EU27 as a breeder, has a tiny breeding range and a small population which is undergoing an extremely rapid population decline. The bird, which is just 33cm in length, does not search for food during the night and so the setting of fishing nets and lines at these times will prevent the birds being caught. This is a pelagic bird which lives at sea most of the year coming to land for breeding in the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. Global population has suffered a decline of 70% in just 60 years, between 1950 and 2010. The species is unsustainable – it is on the road to extinction. extinction is inevitable unless this accidental catching of them is eliminated. Europe?s most endangered sea bird, the Balearic Shearwater, could be extinct within a century. Appearance wise it has a short elegant body, long sleek wings giving it an effortless rapid shallow wing beat appearance as it glides across the surface of the water, this bird is designed to spend the majority of its life on the wing and floating about resting on the surface of the ocean. The species occurs in the western and central Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is endemic to the Balearic Islands, Spain. It breeds in caves and crevices on remote cliff sites and islets of Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca and Cabrera. Despite breeding in the Balearic Islands, and the south coast of France, it migrates north towards the Bay of Biscay, which is when some birds make it into British waters. Balearic Shearwaters migrate to the North Atlantic after the breeding season and are relatively common off the south-east coast of England. So distribution wise we can say it is native to France Gibraltar Ireland Portugal Spain United Kingdom. This species is marine, usually found around inshore waters. It breeds on cliffs and small islets. The species nests in colonies, in rock crevices or on cave ledges lined sparsely with plant material. It feeds mostly on small shoaling fish, squid and crustaceans. Balearic shearwaters breed in burrows on coastal cliffs in Spain?s Balearic Islands. They spend the large part of winter in the Meditteranean SeaMost, migrating to the Atlantic via the UK and Ireland in late summer. After breeding, most birds leave the Mediterranean for the Atlantic coast of south-west Europe, mainly Portugal, north-west Spain and the Bay of Biscay. Causes/ Problems/ Threats: Predation at breeding colonies by introduced mammals. It is critically endangered, in large part because of the infestation of feral cats, pine martens and genets which all predate the adult shearwaters. With black rats preying on chicks and eggs affecting future generations, on its home islands. At present the greatest threat to the Balearic shearwater is thought to be unnatural adult mortality. At-sea mortality as a result of fisheries by-catch. On land this may be caused by predation by introduced cats, rats and genets. At sea this species has a close association with trawlers from which it takes fish discards, and mass mortality has been observed where fish lines have come too close to large groups of birds. Habitat degradation/destruction: The Balearic shearwater?s breeding habitat is under threat from encroaching urbanisation, as well as degradation from other human activities and introduced rabbits, which compete for nesting sites. Pollution: The species? foraging habitat is also under threat from pollution, particularly in the Ebro Delta, which has very high levels of mercury that have the potential to accumulate in the birds, causing poisoning and a reduction in reproductive success. Additional threats to the Balearic shearwater include attacks by yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis), which causes regurgitation and can inflict wounds, as well as hybridisation with the Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan). Overfishing, alien species and climate change are other causes of its declining population. Conservation/Restoration Efforts: Conservation Actions Underway All breeding sites are currently protected as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the Natura 2000 network. Rat eradication campaigns have been conducted at several colonies, including Cabrera archipelago and Dragonera Island, but less effort has been directed at the colonies of greatest concern where carnivores are present (e.g. Formentera and Menorca). At sea, the Spanish Government has started the process of SPA designation based on the inventory of marine IBAs conducted by SEO/BirdLife, which, once concluded, will provide protection to the main hotspots for the species in Spanish waters. So far only a few small coastal sites have been designated as SPAs by the regional governments in Spain. Portugal already has an inventory of marine IBAs, but their designation as SPAs is still pending. Finally, France has also proposed a network of SPAs that include hotspots for the species. A number of actions are currently being implemented through Species Guardians SEO/BirdLife and SPEA as part of BirdLife's Preventing Extinctions programme. Moreover, research on the species is also being conducted by BirdLife partners in collaboration with several research centres, with funding from EC projects LIFE+ INDEMARES (Spain) and Interreg FAME (Portugal, Spain, France, UK and Ireland). The main initiatives include the assessment of bycatch through questionnaires to fishermen, observers onboard fishing vessels and conducting beached bird surveys, and the identification of hotspots at sea through boat surveys, coastal counts and tracking studies (breeding and non-breeding grounds). |
