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General Objective:

To evaluate and improve the suitability of the Network of Marine Protected Areas of Spain (RAMPE) as a conservation tool for pelagic birds in eastern Spain.

The main activities are based on the development of a global analysis of the spatial overlap between seabirds, their marine habitat, their interactions with fishing vessels and the fishing activities of each fleet, along the coast of eastern Spain in general, and in particular with the current Network of Marine Protected Areas of Spain (RAMPE).

Specific objectives:

1. To identify the main feeding areas of pelagic birds in eastern Spain and their spatial consistency over the years.
2. To characterize the habitat of pelagic birds and explore the suitability of specific environmental variables as early predictors of their distribution.
3. To determine the type and degree of interaction between pelagic birds and the fishing fleet of the Spanish east and to identify the factors that modulate them.
4. Enhancement of the RAMPE and management proposals that improve the suitability of the network as a tool for the conservation of pelagic birds.

The results obtained show the enormous potential of GPS devices with detectors for the study of interactions between seabirds and fisheries. They have also shown that bird movements can change markedly throughout the different phases of the reproductive period, so that the exposure of birds to different threats is not constant in space or time. In addition, after modelling the distribution of birds for each species at the metapopulation level, and throughout the western Mediterranean, the ideal habitat for the different species considered was observed. This allows the importance of each enclave to be evaluated based on the presence and abundance of the different species.

For the development of the RAMPE project , the necessary permits were requested for the capture and handling of 30 – 40 Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from the Balearic Islands, Castellón, Murcia and Almeria.

GPS data from the fishing fleet operating in eastern Spain have been collected and spatio-temporal data on the distribution of Cory’s, Mediterranean and Balearic shearwater and Audouin’s gull populations, collected in previous years, have been analysed to overlap the distribution of the four species and the different fishing gears (bottom trawling, purse seine, surface longline and bottom longline).

Cory’s shearwater breeding samples have been carried out in two campaigns – Balearic Islands-Castellón and Murcia-Almería – using geolocation methods. The locations made it possible to reconstruct the trajectories and feeding journeys of more than 300 shearwaters during the 2018 breeding. The results define which areas the shearwaters of the different populations use to rest and feed, and which are only for transit, the latter of less relevance for the management and conservation of the species.

For the yellow-legged gull, two breeding colonies were monitored throughout the annual cycle in the Ebro Delta and the Mendes Islands, capturing 14 individuals per area. The analysis shows that the specimens follow the same strategy, both in the reproductive and non-breeding periods, and knowledge has been obtained of wintering areas that could be key for some populations of the species.

The spatio-temporal analysis of both species reveals the distance to the colony as a determining variable in their distribution. The analysis of spatial overlap between colonies reflects a clear spatial segregation in the areas used by the birds according to the colony of origin. The main areas used by the different colonies tend not to overlap.

The analyses carried out indicate that there are clear differences in the areas used by the Atlantic and Mediterranean Cory’s shearwater, which breeds in different colonies. There is an evident spatial segregation in the areas of intensive use and throughout their range of movements. In addition, it has a high year-on-year consistency in the areas used. There do not seem to be marked differences in the time investment allocated to each of the behaviors according to the colony of origin.

From the data analysis, it was obtained that the overlap of Cory’s shearwaters with the fleet that has VMS is greater during the chick rearing period compared to the incubation period, and that the purse seine fleet has less overlap with Cory’s shearwaters compared to the trawl and surface longline fleet.

Finally, a comprehensive analysis of the spatial overlap of seabirds, their marine habitat, their interactions with fishing boats and the fishing activities of each fleet with the Network of Marine Protected Areas of Spain (RAMPE) was carried out, concluding that the current RAMPE hosts few of the main feeding locations of Mediterranean Cory’s shearwater. In fact, the area with the highest probability of concurrence of these animals in both periods (incubation and rearing of the chick) occurs off the coast of Barcelona, outside the Network and without any protection measures currently applied.