In the Canary Islands (southernmost limit of its distribution) the species is in the verge of extinction, being necessary to adopt some urgent conservation measures and new surveys to know the precise situation of this seabird
Dear Volker,
Thanks for your reply. About the present situation of the Manx Shearwater in the Canaries, it seems that rat predation must be one of the main reasons of the strong decline of its local population, but there are for sure other factors. The last field survey here was undertaken in 2008 and confirmed a rapid reduction of birds in the breeding colonies, including the loss of several traditional breeding sites.
Dear Ruben,
surely rat predation is a major problem for breeding seabirds, but please consider that now, as well as in 2008, there might be an effect of El Niño on the food chain and as such on Manx Shearwater. I think it would give you a better picture of the situation if you can compare "normal" years in the species' monitoring history in the Canaries.
Best regards
Cecilia
Caro Ruben
ti confermo quanto detto da Cecilia, in Italia il successo riproduttivo nelle aree in cui non si è proceduto all'eradicazione dei ratti (es. Tavolara) è prossimo allo zero. Un abbraccio a presto
Angelo
Hi again.
Thanks for your comments ("grazie mille"). Very interesting...
Best regards from the warm Canaries.
Hi Ruben,
Other reasearchers are better placed to answer than I am. However, to my knowledge, Manx Shearwaters are not declining at important breeding colonies in West Wales and South-west England. A recent census from Skomer Island (Perrins et al. 2012) found that the population was much higher than during a count 13 years earlier. However, the census methods were different, which could account for the change. On neighbouring Skokholm Island, the population is thought to be stable (although it did dip a little under 10 years ago). On Ramsay Island, it is growing following rat eradication, and the same trend is seen on Lundy Island. So it's not all bad news!
Thanks,
Viola
http://www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/journals/seabird-25/seabird-25-1.pdf
http://www.welshwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Skokholm-Seabird-Report-2015.pdf
http://www.lundy.org.uk/download/j4/LFS_Journal_Vol_4_Part_8.pdf
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/ramseyisland/b/ramseyisland-blog/archive/2016/07/07/the-rise-of-the-shearwater.aspx
Hi again.
Thanks a lot for your comments and links, Viola. As I imagined, the situation of this species in some breeding colonies of the UK is good, but at least in several of the Macaronesian or "Mid-Atlantic" archipelagos (like the Canaries) Manx Shearwaters are clearly declining. We need recent field surveys to know the present status and population of this pelagic seabird here, as the last one was undertaken in 2008, as I said before...
Best regards, and thanks again.
Hi again.
Canarian Manx Shearwaters are close to be described as a new subspecies, Puffinus puffinus canariensis. This fact elevates the degree of interest and importance of the southernmost populations of this pelagic seabird. We hope that some direct conservation measures be adopted soon, together with a new full survey of its present status in the archipelago...
The new subspecies of Manx Shearwater, Puffinus p. canariensis, has been officially described and published; see this link:
Article Cryptic differentiation in the Manx Shearwater hinders the i...
In the Westman archipelago a the northern limit to Manx Shearwater distribution, unpublished data indicates status quo, high survival and population seem stable. The population is small an thus not important in the grand population context.
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