Balearic shearwater

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Balearic shearwater

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Puffinus
Species:
P. mauretanicus
Binomial name
Puffinus mauretanicus
Lowe, 1921
Synonyms

Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus
Puffinus yelkouan mauretanicus

The Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) is a medium-sized

IUCN and is one of Europe's most endangered seabirds.[3]

Taxonomy

The Balearic shearwater was

trinomial name Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus.[4]

The Balearic shearwater was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx shearwater. Following an initial split, it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean shearwater" for nearly ten more years,[5] until it was resolved to be a distinct species, separate from the yelkouan shearwater.[6][7][8] It is the last taxon of the Puffinus complex that was recognized as a separate entity.[citation needed]

A

conspecific.[9]

It appears to belong to a group of

mya), as indicated by molecular differences and the Ibizan fossil Puffinus nestori from the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, which may have been the direct ancestor of the present species.[7]


Description

Balearic shearwater is 34–39 cm (13–15 in) in length and has a wingspan of 78–90 cm (31–35 in).[12] It has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wingbeats, the wingtips almost touching the water. This bird looks like a flying cross, with its wing held at right angles to the body, and it changes from dark brown to dirty white as the dark upperparts and paler undersides are alternately exposed as it travels low over the sea.[13]

Apart from its less contrasting

DNA sequence data is suggested to identify the species.[14]

Distribution and habitat

This species breeds on islands and coastal cliffs in the

Balearic islands. Most winter in that sea, but some enter the Atlantic in late summer, reaching north to Great Britain and Ireland
.

Behaviour

This is a gregarious species, which can be seen in large numbers from boats or headlands, especially in autumn. It is silent at sea, but at night the breeding colonies are alive with raucous cackling calls, higher pitched than the Manx shearwater's.

Breeding

This species nests in

burrows and caves [15] which are visited only at night to avoid predation by large gulls
.

Feeding

The Balearic shearwater feeds on

molluscs
. It does not follow boats.

Conservation and threats

The Balearic shearwater is considered

IUCN.[1] Recent models estimate a mean decrease of 7.4% per year and a mean extinction time of 40.4 years. This equates to an ongoing decline of more than 80% over the next three generations (54 years).[citation needed] It is under severe threat from the development of holiday resorts near its breeding sites. These can destroy or alter its natural breeding habitat by, for example, producing light pollution around nesting colonies.[16] Predation from introduced animals such as cats and rats also cause problems.[citation needed] The discovery of yelkouan shearwaters in the Menorcan colony suggests that hybridization may also pose a problem.[14] A further problem for conservation of the Balearic Shearwater is that 25 official languages are spoken across its distribution, hampering the dissemination of conservation information.[17] The Balearic shearwater is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels applies.[18]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728432A132658315.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Puffin". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  4. ^ "Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 41: 140–141. 1921.
  5. ISBN 978-0-300-04969-5
    .
  6. ^ Wink, Michael; Heidrich, Petra & Ristow, Dietrich (1993). "Genetic evidence for speciation of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) and the Mediterranean Shearwater (P. yelkouan)" (PDF). Die Vogelwelt. 114 (6): 226–232.
  7. ^
    doi:10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00085-9
    .
  8. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x
    .
  9. hdl:2445/193747
    .
  10. PMID 8812308
    .
  11. ^ Alcover, Josep Antoni (2001). "Nous avenços en el coneixement dels ocells fòssils de les Balears" (PDF). Anuari Ornitològic de les Balears (in Catalan). 16: 3–13.
  12. ISBN 978-0-00-726814-6
    .
  13. doi:10.2173/bow.balshe1.01.1
    .
  14. ^
    S2CID 38540032
    .
  15. S2CID 86346867
    .
  16. S2CID 11210186
    .
  17. PMID 35442973
    . Wikidata Q112271116.
  18. ^ "Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels". Retrieved 17 December 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puffinus mauretanicus.
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