SEAGHOSTS: International project will monitor the biodiversity of the smallest seabirds on the planet

Starting now and until 2027, the international project SEAGHOSTS will monitor and conserve populations of storm petrels, among the smallest seabirds on the planet. The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (CIÊNCIAS) and the Institute for Research in Marine Sciences – OKEANOS, at the University of Azores, are the Portuguese partners of this project.

SEAGHOSTS focuses on six species that nest in the North Atlantic, whose ecology and even taxonomy are very little known, as they are very difficult to study: these birds are exclusively nocturnal on land, weigh no more than 50 grams and nest in small crevices in rocks or in burrows.

Through the coordinated effort of sixteen partners from eleven European countries, as well as Cape Verde, the United States and Canada, SEAGHOSTS aims to understand the annual cycle of this diverse group, the oceanic areas used during the breeding period and during migration and wintering, and quantify their threats at an European scale.

“Through this work, we will have the opportunity to map the  threat vulnerability due to human activities at sea and help identify the most important marine areas for the conservation of storm petrels that inhabit our seas”, explains José Pedro Granadeiro, coordinator of this project at CIÊNCIAS.

Six species of storm petrel will be included, including two endemic species, the Cape Verde storm petrel (Hydrobates jabejabe), and the Monteiro’s Storm petrel (Hydrobates monteiroi), endemic to the Azores.

Verónica Neves, researcher at the OKEANOS Institute, states that “this will be a great opportunity to deepen our knowledge about the global spatial ecology of storm petrels, and contribute to the preservation of these small birds”, adding that these animals are fantastic sentinels of the marine ecosystem: “ They are highly pelagic, travel great distances at sea, have a very long life and are extremely sensitive to anthropogenic threats in general. They are, therefore, ideal objects of study!”

According to the researchers, this project will fill important gaps about marine biodiversity by combining available monitoring data with new data that will be acquired during the project across Europe.

The human footprint is unevenly distributed across the oceans and across different political borders, but its impact on the marine environment has been little studied. This lack of knowledge often hampers the European Union's performance on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Although the European society is particularly sensitive to ecological transition processes to mitigate global change, the large investment in low-carbon technologies and the rapid transition to renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind and solar farms, can also have significantly harmful effects in marine environments. Knowledge of the migratory routes of various species of storm petrels will allow the identification of threats and priority areas for the conservation of the species.

The work carried out by CIÊNCIAS will be mostly carried out in Selvagens and Desertas islands (in Madeira archipelago), and will involve other team members: Mónica Silva and Maria P. Dias from CIÊNCIAS and also Paulo Catry, from ISPA- Instituto Universitário.