Shearwaters on the news!

 J.-M. Igual explains the  breeding biology of Cory's Shearwaters and the importance of long-term monitoring to identify threats. The full interview here.

New Publication on Synchrony !

Payo-Payo, A., Igual,J.-M., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Real, E., Genovart, M., Oro, D., Tavecchia, G., 2022 Interspecific synchrony on breeding performance and the role of anthropogenic food subsidies. PLoS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275569 

Abstract. Synchrony can have important consequences for long-term metapopulations persistence, community dynamics and ecosystems functioning. While the causes and consequences of intra-specific synchrony on population size and demographic rates have received considerable attention only a few factors that may affect inter-specific synchrony have been described. We formulate the hypothesis that food subsidies can buffer the influence of environmental stochasticity on community dynamics, disrupting and masking originally synchronized systems.

 To illustrate this hypothesis, we assessed the consequences of European policies implementation affecting subsidy availability on the temporal synchrony of egg volume as a proxy of breeding investment in two sympatric marine top predators with differential subsidy use. We show how 7-year synchrony appears on egg volume fluctuations after subsidy cessation suggesting that food subsidies could disrupt interspecific synchrony. Moreover, cross correlation increased after subsidy cessation and environmental buffering seems to act during synchronization period. We emphasize that subsidies dynamics and waste management provide novel insights on the emergence of synchrony in natural populations.

New publication on seabirds and stable isotopes !

Ramírez F, Vicente-Sastre D, Afán I, Igual JM, Oro D, Forero MG (2021) Stable isotopes in seabirds reflect changes in marine productivity patterns. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 662:169-180. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13615

 ABSTRACT: Seabirds have been proposed as suitable candidates for tracking and monitoring changes in marine systems (bioindicators). However, their suitability depends on our ability to link the large degree of environmental variability inherent to marine systems with a few, relevant, and accessible signals (biomarkers) informing on changes in their feeding behavior or reproductive performance. We combined satellite remote-sensing records with stable isotope data (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) and breeding parameters (fledging success) spanning several years (2001-2014) to investigate the ecological responses to environmental variability by 2 sympatric seabirds inhabiting the western Mediterranean: Scopoli’s shearwater Calonectris diomedea and Cory’s shearwater C. borealis. 

Both species showed similar annual variations in their stable isotopic composition, likely as a response to the trophic consequences of changes in the magnitude and timing of the annual peak in marine productivity (as proxied by satellite imagery of chlorophyll a concentrations). In contrast, no relevant responses were observed in their breeding performance, suggesting that their life-history strategy has evolved to constancy in breeding success, which diminishes its value as a biomarker of changes in marine productivity patterns. Despite this limitation, combining remote sensing and stable isotopes in seabirds is a reliable and powerful tool for the early detection of fine-scale, climate-driven changes in marine productivity patterns and its cascading effects across communities and trophic levels, especially under the current scenario of ocean warming. 

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.

Stranded !

Cory's shearwater fledglings are leaving the nest. Some of them get attracted by the light of the cities along the shore and cannot find the way back to the sea. 

Please call 112 if you find one. 

Shearwater campaign (part I) ended!

Today was the last visit to the Shearwater colony to measure hatching success. 

Next visit in September to ring the chicks before they leave Europe for their first journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Master on Marine Ecology with the GEDA

M. Martin Perez

A. Sola

M. Martin Perez and M. Castell from the University of the Blearic Island, and A. Sola from the University of Santiago began their Final Work (TFM) for their Master Degree on Marine Ecology with the GEDA.

M. Castell

 Maria will be focussing her research on the response of Cory's Shearwater to climatic changes, Marga will experimentally evaluate the recruitment behaviour of Storm Petrel and Alfonso will study the foraging strategy of the Yellow-Legged Gull. They will be supervised by A. Sanz-Aguilar, G. Tavecchia and J.-M. Igual.
Their respective fieldwork campaigns are on the starting blocks !

The Cory's Shearwaters began to breed !

Photo: A. Sanz-Aguilar

The Cory's Shearwater campaign has just started. The first birds are on their egg. This year all seabirds have slightly changed the phenology, we will see whether Shearwaters do the same.