The Shearwater campaign 2020 on the starting blocks

The Shearwater campaign is on the starting blocks. With no boats, the water appears even more spectacular than usual.
 

We are anxious to assess the 2020 nest occupation rate after some bad news on the state of the species in Northern Africa.

Keep in touch.

New Publication on Lapped-faced vulture !

Santangeli A., Pakanen, V-M, Bridgeford, P., Boorman, M., Kolberg, H., and Sanz-Aguilar, A. 2020. The relative contribution of camera trap technology and citizen science for estimating survival of an endangered African vulture. Biological Conservation, vol, 246 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108593

Photo:wikipedia.org

Abstract: Technological advances such as camera traps, and citizen science, coupled with advanced quantitative approaches, can help fill existing knowledge gaps and aid effective conservation. We combine citizen and camera trap observations to estimate survival of the Endangered lappet-faced vulture, assess the relative contribution of data from camera traps and citizens, as well as impact of loss of individual marks (wing tags), on survival estimates.  We used data from 762 lappet-faced vultures wing tagged as nestlings during 2006-2017 in western Namibia. Observations of wing tagged individuals were provided by citizens or via camera traps.
We formulated a multievent capture-mark-recapture model to estimate survival while accounting for probabilities of resighting by citizens and/or camera traps, recovery of dead individuals, and loss of the wing tag.  Survival was relatively high for juveniles (0.79), and increased with age to 0.95. Citizen observations of live and dead birds were low in number. However, when combined with camera trap resightings of live individuals, citizen observations increased the precision of survival estimates of birds older than one year compared to using data from either sources separately. Wing tag loss was high after 5–6 years of tag age. If neglected, tag loss can result in severe underestimation of survival of the older age classes. Overall, we show that filling ecological knowledge gaps is possible through the efficient use of data provided by different sources, and by applying state-of the art approaches that minimise potential biases, such as those due to tag loss.

Birds and lockdown

The Audouin's gull breed again on the islets off Mallorca thank to the lockdown ! 

It was about eight years that the species did not breed in this islet. 

Unfortuntaley, there were some (illegal) visitors. Let 's hope nobody will disturb the new colony for three more weeks.

Fingers crossed.

Congratulations ! Top downloaded paper 2018-2019

The work by Ana Sanz-Aguilar & Jaume Badia-Boher in the Journal of Applied Ecology (here) among the top downloaded articles in 2018-2019. Well done Ana!

Yellow-legged gull y COVID-19

Photo: Emil Colom Arques

The breeding season of the Yellow-legged gull is ending. Impossible to conduct a full campaign with the anti COVID-19 measures.

New Publication on Lizard evolutionary demography

Rotger, A., Igual, J.M. and Tavecchia, G., 2020,  Contrasting size-dependent life-history straegy in an insular lizard. Current Zoology, https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaa019

Abstract: In many species with continuous growth, body size is an important driver of life-history tactics and its relative importance is thought to reflect the spatio-temporal variability of selective pressures. We developed a deterministic size-dependent integral projection model (IPM) for three insular neighbouring lizard populations with contrasting adult body sizes to investigate how size-related selective pressures can influence lizard life-history tactics. 

Photo; G. Tavecchia

 For each population, we broke down differences in population growth rates into contributions from size-dependent body growth, survival, and fecundity. A life table response experiment (LTRE) was used to compare the population dynamics of the three populations and quantify the contributions of intrinsic demographic coefficients of each population to the population growth rate (λ). Perturbation analyses revealed that the largest adults contributed the most to the population growth rate, but this was not true in the population with the smallest adults and size-independent fertility. Although we were not able to identify a single factor responsible for this difference, the combination of the demographic model on a continuous trait coupled with a life table response experiment analysis revealed how sister populations of the same species follow different life strategies and showed different compensatory mechanisms among survival, individual body growth and fertility.Our results indicate that body size can play a contrasting role even in closely related and closely spaced populations.

A press note (in Spanish) here

JAE Fellowship with the GEDA

Photo: Victor Paris

 The GEDA offers a training on Animal Ecology within the JAE fellowship program 2020, sponsored by the “Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas”. Candidates should apply for the grant and select the GEDA training. The fellowship is intended for a recently graduated student who would like to receive a training in the study of animal ecology. 

Photo: G Tavecchia

The GEDA training code is JAEINT20_EX_0684, titled "Practical and Theoretical training in Capture-Mark-Recapture techniques to the study of animal populations". Dead line the 9th of April. For terms and applications here and here.

Red Weevil on the news

The analysis led by Ana Sanz-Aguilar (here) on Red Weevil - Palma interactions made the news.

"Diario de Mallorca" here
IMEDEA press release here
"Palma City Council" here
"Ultima Hora" here