GEDA-i and "SPOT THE MONK" project!

Photo: P. Henry at IUCN

The increasing sightings of the Monk Seal Monachus monachus in Italy and central Mediterranean indicate a possible increase of the Atlantic (here) as well as Eastern Mediterranean populations. As part of the Med for Med project (more here), Prof E. Valsecchi has developed a novel technique to reveal Monk Seal traces of DNA in the environment (eDNA, here and here). “Spot the Monk” is the new initiative to assess Monk seals presence in the Central and Western Mediterranean. The first results are very promising (here). D.  Ramella, the GEDA-i and several collaborators are collecting samples around Mallorca from sites originally used by the seals. Stay tuned to know the results!

 

 

 

 

 

European storm petrel campaign on the blocks!

The campaign on European Storm Petrels on Western Medieterranean isalnds is on the blocks. Thanks to Andreu, Maria and, of course, Ana (and some extra help). This year birds are breeding late. Let's hope they will breed well.

Balearic Shearwater on the news!

 Maria Martin Pérez explains at the "España Directo" the ecology of the Balearic Shearwater. Here (min 24) and a short version here.

Intership ERASMUS+ with the GEDA

Denise Ramella is joining the GEDA for a two months intership within the framework of the Erasmus+ program. Denise will work on the analysis of Storm Petrel foraging areas in collaboration with the University of Milan (Prof. E. A. Valsecchi). Welcome Denise!

Rock Sparrow press release!

Our work on Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia breeding phenology (here) was well received by the scientific comunity and the local environmental agencies. A press note on the Rock Sparrow project here  (in italian).

New publication on vultures!

Arrondo, E., García‐Alfonso, M., Blas, J., Cortes‐Avizanda, A., De La Riva, M., [...], Donazar, J.A. (2021), Use of avian GPS tracking to mitigate human fatalities from bird strikes caused by large soaring birds. Journal of Applied Ecology.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13893 

 Abstract:

1. Birds striking aircraft cause substantial economic loss worldwide and, more worryingly, human and wildlife fatalities. Designing effective measures to avoid fatal bird strikes requires in‐depth knowledge of the characteristics of this incident type and the flight behaviors of the bird species involved.
   
   
   
2. The characteristics of bird strikes involving aircraft crashes or loss of human life in Spain were studied and compared to flight patterns of bird monitored by GPS. We tracked 210 individuals of the three species that cause the most crashes and human fatalities in Spain: griffon and cinereous vultures (Gyps fulvus and Aegypius monachus) and white storks (Ciconia ciconia).
3. All the crashes involved general aviation aircraft, while none were recorded in commercial aviation. Most occurred outside airport boundaries, at midday and in the warmest months, which all correspond with the maximum flight activity of the studied species.
4. Bird flight altitudes overlapped the legal flight altitude limit set for general aviation.
5. Policy implications: Mitigation of fatal bird strikes should especially address the conflict between general aviation and large soaring birds. Air transportation authorities should consider modifying the flight ceiling for general aviation flights above the studied species’ maximum flight altitude. Moreover, policymakers should issue pilots with recommendations regarding the dates and times of peak activity of large soaring bird species to improve flight safety.
   

Press release on landfill and birds!

A press release on birds and landfill on the White Stork paper (here) just came out here (in Spanish).

New publication on climate change and bird breeding phenology!

Mingozzi, T., Storino, P., Venuto, G., Massolo, A., Tavecchia, G., 2021. Climate warming induced a streth of the breeding season and an increase of second clutches in a passerine breeding at its altitude limits. Current Zoology, zoab029, https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab029

Abstract: The increase in the average air temperature due to global warming has produced an early onset of the reproduction in many migratory birds of the Paleartic region. According to the “mismatch hypothesis” this response can lead to a decrease in the breeding output when the conditions that trigger the departure from the wintering areas do not match the availability of food resources in the breeding ground. We used 653 brooding events registered during the period 1991–2013 to investigate the link between climatic variables and individual breeding performance of a partially migratory passerine, the Rock SparrowPetronia petronia, breeding at the altitude limit of its distribu-tion.

 

Photo: Corrado Damiano

The laying date (LD) of the earliest first clutch was associated with local spring (minimum) temperatures but did not show a significant trend during the period considered. The LD of the latest first clutch had a positive and statistically significant trend, unrelated to local covariates and resulting in a longer breeding season (1.5 days/year). A longer breeding season allowed birds to produce more second clutches, which proportion increased from 0.14 to 0.25. The average breeding success was also positively correlated with the average temperature in July and with the duration of the breeding season. Contrary to expectations, the most important climate-dependent effect was a stretch of the breeding season due to a significant increase of the LD of the latest first-clutches rather than an earlier breeding onset. We show how climate changes act on bird populations through multiple paths and stress the need to assess the link between climatic variables and several aspectsof the breeding cycle.