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The 13th MEDMARAVIS Pan-Mediterranean Symposium was held in Alghero, Sardinia over 14-17 October 2011 with the theme ‘Mediterranean Seabird Ecology and Conservation: Update and Progress'.  The symposium was organized by MEDMARAVIS, an NGO that deals with the study and conservation of coastal habitats and marine avifauna throughout the Mediterranean region.  Publication of a proceedings volume in English is intended.

A number of papers presented in two dedicated sessions are of special interest to ACAP as they dealt with three shearwater species breeding within the Mediterranean that have been identified as potential candidates for listing within the Agreement. These three species include the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus that is likely to be listed within the Agreement next year.

Titles and authors of the shearwater sessions and papers follow.

Ecology and Migration of Balearic Shearwaters
Russell Wynn, Tom Brereton, Laurent Thébault & Pierre Yésou:  Intensive monitoring provides new insights into key flyways and foraging areas of Balearic Shearwaters Puffinus mauretanicus in UK and French waters.
Maite Louzao: The importance of multidisciplinary approaches for species conservation: lessons from the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater.
José Manuel Arcos, Juan Bécares, Beneharo Rodriguez, Asuncion Ruiz & Daniel Oro:  How many Balearic Shearwaters Puffinus mauretanicus are out there?  Discrepancies between breeding and at sea estimates.
Tim Guildford, Russell Wyn, Miguel McMinn, Ana Rodriguez, Alice Jones, Louise Maurice & Lavinia Suberg:  Long-distance movements of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus revealed by GPS and geolocator tracking.

Population Ecology of Cory's and Yelkouan Shearwaters
CEN PACA & Mathieu Thévenet:  State of knowledge of the populations of the Mediterranean Shag, Cory's Shearwater, Yelkouan Shearwater and European Storm Petrel in the Mediterranean: threats identified and action proposals for the small islands of the Mediterranean.
John Borg and Joe Sultana:  A historical overview of studies and conservation of Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan at L-Irdumtal-Madonna, Malta.
J.G. Cecere, I. Maggini, C. Catoni, G. Gaibani & C. Celada:  Foraging activity and key conservation areas of Cory's Shearwaters from Italian colonies.
Marco Zenatello, Giovanna Spano, Nicola Baccetti, Carla Zucca, Augosto Navone, Massimo Putzu, Caterina Azara, Egidio Trainito & Mirko Ugo:  Movements and moving population estimates of Yelkouan Shearwaters at Tavolara, Sardinia.
Lia Derhe & Ivan Ramirez:  Updating Action Plans for Cory's and Yelkouan Shearwaters.  A BirdLife International Project.

Posters
Clara Péron, Henri Weimerkirch & David Grémillet:  Exploring marine habitats of two shearwater species breeding in the French Mediterranean islands to identify marine protected areas.
Dilek Sahin, Ergün Bacak, Sercan Bilgin, Canan Atay, Kerem Ali Boyla & Jose Tavares:  Presence and behaviour of Yelkouan Shearwaters Puffinus yelkouan at the Bosphorus.
Pierre Yésou, Laurent Thébault, Yann Février & collaborators:  Recent insights in the distribution and abundance of Balearic Shearwaters off Britanny, western France.

The symposium was followed by a two-day seminar organized by BirdLife International to consider and update action plans for Cory's and Yelkouan Shearwaters (click here).

Click here to see the symposium programme with a list of all the presentations offered.

For information on shearwater conservation efforts in Malta visit the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 December 2011.