Mediterranean Marine Avifauna: Population Studies and Conservation

526 Pages·1986·12.381 MB·English

by  Mauro Fasola (auth.), Xaver Monbailliu (eds.)

Mediterranean Marine Avifauna
Population Studies and ConseNation
NATO ASI Series
Advanced Science Institutes Series
A series presenting the results of activities sponsored by the NA TO Science
Committee, which aims at the dissemination of advanced scientific and
technological knowledge, with a view to strengthening links between scientific
communities.
The Series is published by an international board of publishers in conjunction with
the NATO Scientific Affairs Division
A Life Sciences Plenum Publishing Corporation
B Physics London and New York
C Mathematical and D. Reidel Publishing Company
Physical Sciences Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster and Tokyo
o
Behavioural and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Social Sciences Boston, The Hague, Dordrecht and Lancaster
E Applied Sciences
F Computer and Springer-Verlag
Systems Sciences Berlin Heidelberg New York
G Ecological Sciences London Paris Tokyo
H Cell Biology
Series G: Ecological Sciences Vol. 12
Mediterranean Marine Avifauna
Population Studies and Conservation
Edited by
MEDMARAVIS
20, Rue Saint Martin, F-75004 Paris, France
and
96, Via S. Satta, 1-07041 Alghero, Sardinia
MEDMARAVIS is a non-profit
scientific Association dealing
AJ.x:",l,tOnt> MCIIW'MtM p., I' A",J.un.l AI,,,f'4
"ucile'.. Medit,,,iII .. plf, r, Avrt.illu muilll' with research and
Medit.erranean Marine Bird Auoci,tion
conservation of the
lSSDClIIT.o1 IllOITEIIWU." NUlt'n.flUII MAlUIE
~"""IJ.,.,IalI.l.....,:...JI~IJI"""I~ Mediterranean Marine Avifauna
and
Xaver Monbailliu
20, Rue Saint Martin, F-75004 Paris, France
Springer -Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York London Paris Tokyo
Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Divison
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Workshop on Population Dynamics and
Conservation of the Mediterranean Marine Avifauna held at Alghero, Sardinia, March
26-30,1986
ISBN-13: 978-3-642-70897-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-70895-4
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-70895-4
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Population
Dynamics and Conservation of the Mediterranean Marine Avifauna" (1986: Alghero, Sardinia) Mediterranean
marine avifauna. (NATO ASI series. Series G, Ecological sciences; vol. 12) "Proceedings of the NATO
Advanced Research Workshop on Population Dynamics and Conservation ofthe Mediterranean Marine
Avifauna held at Alghero, Sardinia, March 26-30, 1986"-Tp. verso. "Published in cooperation with NATO
Scientific Affairs Division." 1. Bird populations-Mediterranean Region-Congresses. 2. Birds, Protection
of-Mediterranean Region-Congresses. 3. Birds-Mediterranean Region-Congresses. I. MEDMARAVIS
(Association) II. Monbailliu, Xaver, 1948-. III. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Scientific Affairs Division.
IV. Title. V. Series: NATO ASI series. Series G, Ecological sciences; no. 12 QL690.M43N38
1986 598.29'24'091822 86-28025
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically those of translating, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcastings, reproduction
by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German
Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use, a fee is payable to "Verwertungsgesell
schaft Wort", Munich.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1986
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 15 t edition 1986t
CONTENTS
PREFACE BY THE HONOURABLE DR. GIORGIO CARTA, SARDINIAN IX
rUNISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XVII
CHAPTER 1 : NATIONAL CENSUS SURVEYS
• Mauro FASOLA: "Laridae and Sternidae breeding in Ita-
ly: Report on the 1982-84 Census Project". 3
• Attilio Mocci DEMARTIS: "Seabirds of the Southern
Sardinian Islets". 19
• T. AKRIOTIS and Georges HANDRINOS: "The First Breed-
ing Case of the Storm Petrel in Greece". 31
• Eduardo de JUANA A. and Andrew M. PATERSON: "The Sta
tus of the Seabirds of the Extreme Western Mediter-
ranean". 39
• Peter L. MEININGER and Sherif M. BAHA EL DIN: "Sea-
birds along the Mediterranean Sea Coast of Egypt". 107
• Menobart VANEERDEN and M.J. MUNSTERMAN: "Importance
of the Mediterranean for Wintering Cormorants". 123
• Bruno MASSA and Adelaide CATALISANO: "Status and Con-
servation of the Storm Petrel in Sicily". 143
• John WALMSLEY: "The Status of Breeding Storm Petrels
on the Mediterranean Coast of France". 153
CHAPTER 2 : DATA BANKS AND CENSUS TECHNIQUES
• Georges HEMERY, Eric PASQUET and Pierre YESOU: "Data
Banks and Population Monitoring in France". 163
• Peter G.H. EVANS: "Monitoring Seabirds in the North
Atlantic". 179
VI
• Elizabeth Anne SCHREIBER and Ralph W. SCHREIBER:
"Seabird Census and Study Techniques". 207
CHAPTER 3 : POPULATION CONTROL OF INVADING SPECIES
• Patricia BRADLEY: "The Breeding Biology of Audouin's
Gull at the Chafarinas Islands". 221
• Juan M. VARELA and Eduardo de JUANA: "The Larus ca-
chinnans Colony of the Chafarinas Islands". 231
• Xaver MONBAILLIU and Antonio TORRE: "Nest-site Se
lection and Interaction of Yellow-legged and
Audouin's Gulls at Isola dell'Asinara". 245
CHAPTER 4 : DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION FLUCTUATIONS
• Pierandrea BRICHETTI and Ugo F. FOSCHI: "Breeding
Ecology of Laridae and Sternidae in the Comacchio
Wetlands and Recent Population Trends". 267
• Xavier FERRER and Albert MARTINEZ-VILALTA: "Fluctua
tions of the Gull and Tern Populations in the Ebro
Delta, north-east Spain, 1960-85". 273
• Paul ISENMANN, Alan JOHNSON and John WALMSLEY:
"Fluctuations of the Laridae of the RhOne Delta over
the past 30 years, 1956-85". 285
• Bruno MASSA and Marco LO VALVO: "Biometrical and Bio-
logical Considerations on the Cory's Shearwater". 293
• Eric CARRERA and Jordi GARCIA-PETIT: "The Importance
of the Iberian Mediterranean Coast as a Wintering
Area for Gulls and Terns". 315
CHAPTER 5 : IMPACT ASSESSMENT
• George M. DUNNET , H.Q.P. CRICK and Sherif BAHA EL
DIN: "Bardawil Lagoon Baseline Environmental Study
and Vulnerability to Oil-Pollution". 335
• Marco LAMBERTINI and Claudio LEONZIO: "Pollutant Le
vels and their Effects on Mediterranean Seabirds". 359
• Juan MAYOL SERRA: "Human Impact on Seabirds in the
Balearic Islands". 379
• Ralph W. SCHREIBER and Elizabeth Anne SCHREIBER:
"Christmas Island (Pacific Ocean) Seabirds and the
EI Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO): 1984 Perspec
tives" . 397
• Antonio M. TEIXEIRA: "Winter Mortality of Seabirds
on the Portuguese Coast". 409
VII
CHAPTER 6 : CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
• Joe SULTANA: "Seabird Conservation Problems in the
Maltese Islands". 423
• Vassilis GOUTNER: "Distribution, Status and Conser
vation of the Mediterranean Gull in Greece". 431
• Helmar SCHENK and Antonio TORRE:
"Breeding Distribution, Numbers and Conservation
of Seabirds in Sardinia, 1978-85". 449
• Giuseppe BOGLIANI: "Conservation Priorities for Sea-
birds in Italy". 465
CHAPTER 7 : POSTER SESSIONS
• A. ANDREOTTI et al.: "Seasonal Fluctuations of Gulls
in Liguria". 477
• Nicola BACCETTI: "Wintering Population of the Common
Cormorant in Tuscany, Italy". 491
• Francesco BARBIERI: "Some Indications of Laridae in
Albania" . 497
• Enrico BENUSSI: "Status of the Populations of Larus
cachinnans and Sterna hirundo nesting in Istria and
northern Dalmatia". 501
• L. CAPELLA ET AL.: "The 1986 Census of the Breeding
Population of Shags in the Balearic Islands". 505
• Jordi GARCIA PETIT ET AL.: "Urban Nesting of Yellow-
legged Gulls in Barcelona". 509
• Pierre YESOU: "Balearic Shearwaters in Western
France". 513
THE ALGHERO DECLARATION OF 1986
English, French, Italian and Spanish texts 519
PREFACE
May I first congratulate, inconditionally, the Association
MEDMARAVIS for organizing this symposium and for inviting me re
presenting the Sardinian Ministry of the Environment. I would
like to assert that such initiatives help a great deal and in a
concrete way, Heads of government departments in charge of land
use and natural resources.
At this first symposium of the Mediterranean Marine Avifau
na I must congratulate the scientific faculty for proposing such
an ample spectrum of high quality papers dealing with diverse
parts of the Mediterranean and beyond. I am sure that their con
tributions will further scientific research, will help to pro
tect our environment and will lead, more especially, to the ma
nagement and conservation of seabirds.
To know in order to manage has often been said at this sym
posium. In fact, it is not possible to manage thoughtfully and
rationally the natural resources without knowing more profound
ly how they function. This reasoning is also valid on a more ge
neral scale: regional planning of human activities should not
disregard the evaluation of the ecosystem.
We are all witnesses of community struggles defended and
won justly because a particular environmental issue was at stake
by some imposing development projects though these would have
brought employment, wages and sometimes more efficient public
services. Today, the concept of ecology as opposed to develop
ment has given way to that one of ecology for development. Ac
cordingly the more advanced societies are getting increasingly
equipped with ever more complete protection systems. In fact,
it is our opinion that civil protection not only means the capa
city of facing the big natural disasters such as floods, forest
fires or calamities, but implies also, and above all, the capa
city of active prevention of negative impact created by local
problems of limited dimensions.
x
If one accepts this concept, and I have no reason to doubt
that one would not, it seems evident that the complex interac
tions of the ecosystem should be analyzed in order to manage the
environment efficiently and functionally. Yet, to our regret,
environmental parameters are often totally neglected. Neverthe
less, data analysis is a vital factor of primary importance.
The evaluation made by Marco Lambertini in the national
newspaper La Stampa of 26th March 1986 seems to be highly ap
propriate when he refers to the devastating effects of mercury
in the Bay of Minamata. Because of the interests aroused by
your studies at this symposium and since we judge your scienti
fic knowledge to be of great significant value, we are commit
ted to finance the publication of these proceedings in the Ita
lian language. Doing so we are certain to obtain at least two
results:
1) giving evidence of the current situation of the marine
ecosystem and of the innovating methodological approach
of the new generation of seabird biologists;
2) making available to environmental managers an indispen
sable tool for action ready for all types of environmen
tal implementation such as programming, information,
education and management of the marine ecosystem.
Since this symposium on seabirds shows a striking affinity,
I would like to cite here the international conference on the
application of the Convention of Ramsar related to the protec
tion of wetlands for waterfowl, which was co-organized at Caglia
ri in 1980 by my department together with the Ministry of Agri
culture, IUCN and IWRB.
The general objective of the Alghero meeting is the manage
ment and conservation of seabirds but also concerns the whole
Mediterranean in a larger context. In whatever subject related
to the Mediterranean one should count with the contribution that
the Sardinian region has to make since everything in the Medi
terranean basin is interconnected despite all due respects for
the rights and obligations of each country. This applies espe
cially to Sardinia, a geographical entity surrounded by the sea
wherefrom we extract important resources.
Thus, as citizens, we cannot be indifferent to the protec
tion of our waters, neither to the problem of development nor to
the safeguard of the environment to the benefit of society. On
the contrary, we are continuously concerned about all kinds of
pollution and strive for a balanced management and conservation
of environmental resources (forests, fauna, vegetation, soil).
With regard to the various imminent threats to the ecologi
cal balance of the Mediterranean Basin and to the vulnerability
of its waters, I believe that, as a region, we need to take ad
vantage of this occasion which is attended by various represen
tatives of Mediterranean countries, to call for a widespread at
tention coming from all of us, to the fact that the negative ef-
XI
fects of sea pollution of the "Mare Nostrum" caused by Sardinia
are limited if not unimportant while other regions produce much
more worrying pollution problems. Other forms of sea contamina
tion, which may be episodical but unfortunately systematical,
are created by transport of hydrocarbons or other chemical pro
ducts.
Some stupendous stretches of our coastline are frequented
by some silent solitary skippers: seabirds such as shearwaters
which constitute an international natural heritage. The rigorous
scientific contributions of the symposium have analyzed the po
pulations and functions of seabirds. This has led to an energe
tic appeal for conservation of seabirds and their enchanted en
vironment.
I would like to ascertain that there is an important scien
tific aspect linked to seabirds since they are efficient indi
cators of the state of natural habitats and thus, in turn, of
the quality of life. There is also a cultural dimension since
the natural resources have helped to form the identity of a
people and are interwoven with its history in an often antago
nistic relationship of Man versus Nature.
May I also underline a recreational or liberating aspect
linked to natural resources since they afford us an esthetic
delight when people are thrilled while seeing such an attrac
tive world. We would like that more people benefit from this
natural experience since they would become better informed and
more alive to environmental issues. Such tourist activities, if
controlled, can produce some economic advantages. I won't treat
here the technical constraints of such a proposal but would like
to deal with some significant and convincing data that were pre
sented by some guest lecturers.
From several sources we understand that Sardinia fulfills
an internationally important strategic role for the marine avi
fauna in the Mediterranean since there are large populations of
rare seabirds, some of them threatened by extinction, such as
the Cory's shearwater, the Yelkouan shearwater, the Shag, the
Audouin's Gull and the Slender-billed Gull. The latter has for
med at Macchiareddu near Cagliari the largest Mediterranean co
lony excluding the Black Sea populations.
The following conditions explain the existence of this va-
ried seabird community:
- the rocky coastlines are practically not cultivated;
- various small islets are uninhabited;
- conservation requirements prohibit hunting in the wet-
lands of international importance which are managed as
faunistical reserves;
- except for some accidental pollution caused by organic
waste or by heavy metals, all coastal waters are of high
quality;
- town planning restrictions protect the Sardinian coast
line since one cannot build in a coastal belt of 150 m
wide.