- Following by radio-tracking of Pterodroma feae, Bulweria bulwerii, Puffinus assimilis, Oceanodroma castro, Sterna dougallii in the Archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira and Berlenga.
The birds will be followed at sea whilst away from the breeding colonies, using the geo-references obtained from the transmitters to give their location. The information collected will be entered into the database of a Geographic Information System. Around 150 transmitters will be placed on birds captured in the nesting colonies, which will be selected for ease of access and ease of following the birds in the colonies. The colonies and the number of birds will be defined by qualified people during scheduled project meetings and will be reviewed by the project's consultants. In general, the plan is as follows - 20 Pterodroma feae – Bugio, Desertas Islands, Madeiran Archipelago; - 20 Bulweria bulwerii – Desertas or Selvagens Islands, Madeiran Archipelago; - 40 Puffinus assimilis – 20 individuals on Desertas or Selvagens Islands, Madeiran Archipelago and 20 individuals on the Central or Western islets of the Azores; -50 Oceanodroma castro - 20 individuals on Desertas or Selvagens Islands, Madeiran Archipelago, 20 individuals on the Central or Western islets of the Azores and 10 individuals on Farilhões, Berlengas Archipelago; - 20 Sterna dougallii on the islets of the Azores Archipelago, depending on the occurrence of the species during the years of the fieldwork. When tracking the birds, we will be able to use fishing boats and airplanes during part of the breeding cycle of each species. This study will allow us to find the areas of distribution at sea for the project target species during the breeding season from the distribution maps obtained from the localization of marked individuals. |