SEAGHOSTS

Context

Understanding the spatial ecology of free-ranging fauna is needed for the effective conservation of global biodiversity. Patterns of distribution and trophic ecology differ among species, and they often face different anthropogenic threats. In addition, merging spatial and trophic ecology with integrative taxonomy has enormous potential for defining accurate Conservation Units (CU).

SEAGHOSTS aims to build on limited knowledge of the spatial and trophic ecology of the storm petrel species (Hydrobatidae and Oceanitidae) and their populations breeding in Europe. Specifically, it aims to assess the major at-sea threats storm petrels face on their Mediterranean and NE Atlantic breeding grounds and on their suspected Southern Atlantic wintering grounds. These threats include climate change, renewable energy infrastructures, aquaculture, and contamination, including plastic exposure.

Storm petrels are excellent sentinels of the marine ecosystem because: (a) they are highly pelagic, covering vast distances for foraging and migrating, (b) they feed on low trophic level prey, therefore responding sooner than larger seabirds to environmental changes, (c) they are long-lived, and (d) they are extremely sensitive to anthropogenic threats. Until now, their small body size and secretive behaviour has posed a major constraint on their study.

Main objectives

1. Examining the spatial distribution and trophic ecology of the storm petrels that breed along Europe;
2. Understanding the annual distribution, migratory connectivity and at-sea behaviour of storm petrel populations inhabiting European seas;
3. Establishing the Conservation Units for the storm petrels that breed in Europe through integrative taxonomy;
4. Evaluating the overlap between the spatio-temporal distribution and abundance of storm petrels and the cumulative effects of human activities at sea;
5. Producing a practical toolkit for improving research and conservation of storm petrels at colony sites.

Main activities

SEAGHOSTS will combine available biologging, genetic and isotopic data with newly collected data over the project to fill important geographic gaps across Europe. This transnational project will combine ultra-miniaturised tracking devices, habitat modelling, bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analysis, diet DNA metabarcoding analysis, geometric morphometrics, and microplastic determinations.

This multidisciplinary methodology, combined with multi-colony and multi-species monitoring, will provide new essential knowledge on year- round, metapopulation distributions of storm petrels (O1, O2), an updated list of storm petrel CU inhabiting European seas (O3), and a review on how diverse human activities at sea may affect oceanic habitats of seabirds (O4).

Overall, this knowledge will help identifying priority conservation areas across international boundaries, i.e. Marine Protected Areas. The project will also quantify any detrimental effects of research on such small seabirds and will assess restoration techniques that increase their breeding performance (O5), directly contributing to their effective management and conservation, both on land and at sea.

SEAGHOSTS, which includes 16 partners from 12 countries, will fill knowledge gaps on the distribution of marine biodiversity, but will also make use of available biodiversity data and contribute to the harmonisation of monitoring methods. Finally, we are already working with a broad range of stakeholders who are supportive of SEAGHOSTS given the urgent need to protect one of our least known group of seabirds.