The Consell de Mallorca supports the 2024 monitoring campaign of its reproduction carried out by IMEDEA, which shows positive results for this endemic species of the Balearic Islands.
The 2024 monitoring campaign of the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) conducted by the Animal Ecology and Demography Group of IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), in coordination with the University of Oxford and Liverpool, shows positive results about the evolution of this endangered species in the Natural Park of Sa Dragonera.
The basic report shows that since 2013, when most of the sampling areas and nests were established, the number of nests occupied with certainty has increased, with a particularly pronounced increase this year 2024. Specifically, since researchers at Oxford University in the UK established the study areas in 2013, the number of monitored pairs has almost quadrupled: 7 were detected in 2013, 12 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 21 in 2023 and 27 in 2024.
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Controlled pairs of endangered Balearic shearwaters have increased fourfold since 2013 in the Natural Park of sa Dragonera
Breeding population and breeding success
According to the report, in this 2024 season, the growth of the breeding population in the areas studied has been ‘very significant’, specifically 29%.
Another highlight is that, for the last 3 years, the breeding success has also been assessed and, in general, it has been quite high: around 80% in 2022-23 and 63% in 2024.
‘These positive results give hope for the future of this endangered species and highlight the fundamental role of predator control carried out in the park to improve the conservation status of its native fauna’, according to the IMEDEA-UIB research team.
Standardised monitoring at sa Dragonera
The Balearic shearwater has an important breeding population on the island of Sa Dragonera. However, no systematic monitoring of nests had been carried out to infer population dynamics over the years and to know their reproductive success. The surveys began in 2013 and, since 2021, each year the occupation of nests and breeding success have been monitored. The Park and the researchers intend to continue with the monitoring protocol in the two main nuclei.
At present, the Natural Park of Sa Dragonera is one of the few Balearic shearwater colonies where standardised monitoring has been established to evaluate the evolution of the number of breeding pairs. Year after year, in two areas of the island, this group of researchers checks all the potential cavities where the species could breed.
The Balearic shearwater is a species endemic to the Balearic Islands and in danger of extinction. The island of Sa Dragonera is home to 10% of its world population.