Balearic shearwater

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Balearic shearwater
Puffinus mauretanicus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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

Contents

The Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Puffinus is a Neo-Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the Manx shearwater, a former delicacy. [2] The specific mauretanicus refers to Mauretania, an old name for an area of North Africa roughly corresponding to Morocco and Algeria. The Balearic Shearwater is listed critically endangered by the IUCN and is one of Europe's most endangered seabirds. [3]

Taxonomy

The Balearic shearwater was formerly described in 1921 by the English ornithologist Percy Lowe. He treated it as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater and coined the 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 molecular phylogenetic study published in 2021 found very little genetic difference between the Balearic shearwater and the yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan). The authors of the study suggested that these two taxa might be better considered as conspecific. [9]

It appears to belong to a group of Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic species which includes the yelkouan shearwater [10] and one to three prehistorically extinct taxa, Hole's and possibly also Olson's shearwater and an undescribed form of unclear distinctness from Menorca. [11] The two living Mediterranean lineages had probably separated before the end of the Pliocene (c. 2 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 plumage, this species is very similar to the Manx and yelkouan shearwaters found elsewhere in the Mediterranean. At least one mixed breeding colony of Balearic and yelkouan shearwaters exists on Menorca, and the species' winter ranges overlap in the Central Mediterranean; for scientific purposes at least, a combination of morphological characteristics and 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 fish and molluscs. It does not follow boats.

Conservation and threats

The Balearic shearwater is considered critically endangered with extinction by the 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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariiformes</span> Order of birds

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all members of the order, or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses. They are almost exclusively pelagic, and have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearwater</span> Seabird

Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrel</span> Seabird

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariidae</span> Family of seabirds which includes petrels, shearweters and prions

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes, which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Manx shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Cory's shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on the archipelago of the Azores in the eastern Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Scopoli's shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooty shearwater</span> Species of bird

The sooty shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name tītī, and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater and the Australian short-tailed shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little shearwater</span> Species of bird

The little shearwater is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yelkouan shearwater</span> Species of bird

The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater.

<i>Puffinus</i> Genus of birds

Puffinus is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: Calonectris, which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and Ardenna with another seven species.

<i>Calonectris</i> Genus of birds

Calonectris is a genus of seabirds. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek kalos, "good" and nectris, "swimmer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge-tailed shearwater</span> Species of bird

The wedge-tailed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on the islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Townsend's shearwater is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flesh-footed shearwater</span> Species of bird

The flesh-footed shearwater sometimes known as the sable shearwater or feet-footed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater that mainly inhabits the Indo-Pacific. Its plumage is black. It has pale pinkish feet, and a pale bill with a distinct black tip. Together with the equally light-billed pink-footed shearwater, it forms the Hemipuffinus group, a superspecies which may or may not have an Atlantic relative in the great shearwater. These large shearwaters are among those that have been separated into the genus Ardenna. Recent genetic analysis indicates evidence of strong divergence between Pacific colonies relative to those in South and Western Australia, thought to be explained by philopatry and differences in foraging strategies during the breeding season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink-footed shearwater</span> Species of bird

The pink-footed shearwater is a species of seabird. The bird is 48 cm (19 in) in length, with a 109 cm (43 in) wingspan. It is polymorphic, having both darker- and lighter-phase populations. Together with the equally light-billed flesh-footed shearwater, it forms the Hemipuffinus group, a superspecies that may or may not have an Atlantic relative in the great shearwater. These are large shearwaters which are among those that could be separated in the genus Ardenna.

Puffinus nestori is an extinct seabird in the petrel family. Its fossil remains, dating from the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene, were found on the island of Ibiza of the Balearic archipelago in the western Mediterranean. It was speculated that it was the direct ancestor of the Mediterranean shearwater.

Pterodromoides is an extinct genus of fulmarine petrel dating from the Late Miocene. It contains a single species, P. minoricensis. Its fossil remains were first discovered at the Punta Nati palaeontological site on the island of Menorca in the Balearic archipelago of the western Mediterranean. An additional specimen from North Carolina, USA has also been referred to this species, suggesting it lived across the North Atlantic. It was described in 2001, with the authors justifying the creation of a new genus by the large orbitonasal opening and characters of the postcranial skeleton, despite the similarity of the cranial osteology to that of Pagodroma.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Puffinus mauretanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22728432A132658315. 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. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, UK: Christopher Helm. p. 243. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ↑ "Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 41: 140–141. 1921.
  5. ↑ Sibley, Charles Gald & Monroe, Burt L. Jr. (1990). Distribution and taxonomy of the birds of the world. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press. 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. 1 2 Heidrich, Petra; Amengual, José F. & Wink, Michael (1998). "Phylogenetic relationships in Mediterranean and North Atlantic shearwaters (Aves: Procellariidae) based on nucleotide sequences of mtDNA" (PDF). Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 26 (2): 145–170. Bibcode:1998BioSE..26..145H. doi:10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00085-9.
  8. ↑ Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J.; Parkin, David T. (2002). "Taxonomic recommendations for European birds". Ibis . 144 (1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x.
  9. ↑ Ferrer Obiol, J.; James, H.F.; Chesser, R.T.; Bretagnolle, V.; González-Solís, J.; Rozas, J.; Welch, A.J.; Riutort, M. (2022). "Palaeoceanographic changes in the late Pliocene promoted rapid diversification in pelagic seabirds". Journal of Biogeography. 49 (1): 171–188. Bibcode:2022JBiog..49..171F. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14291 . hdl: 2445/193747 .
  10. ↑ Austin, Jeremy J. (August 1996). "Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 6 (1): 77–88. Bibcode:1996MolPE...6...77A. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060. 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. ↑ Svensson, Lars; Mullarney, Killian; Zetterström, Dan (2009). Collins Bird Guide (2nd ed.). London: HarperCollins. p. 70. ISBN   978-0-00-726814-6.
  13. ↑ Kirwan, Guy M.; del Hoyo, Josep; Collar, Nigel; David, Tim S. (2021). "Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), version 1.1". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.balshe1.01.1.
  14. 1 2 Genovart, Meritxell; Juste, Javier & Oro, Daniel (January 2005). "Two sibling species sympatrically breeding: a new conservation concern for the critically endangered Balearic shearwater". Conservation Genetics. 6 (4): 601–606. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.727.9352 . doi:10.1007/s10592-005-9010-z. hdl:10261/49223. S2CID   38540032.
  15. ↑ Genovart, Meritxell (2016). "Demography of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater: the impact of fisheries and time to extinction" (PDF). Journal of Applied Ecology. 53 (4): 1158–1168. Bibcode:2016JApEc..53.1158G. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12622. S2CID   86346867.
  16. ↑ Rodríguez, Airam; García, David; Rodríguez, Beneharo; Cardona, Esteban; Parpal, Lluís & Pons, Pere (October 2015). "Artificial lights and seabirds: is light pollution a threat for the threatened Balearic petrels?". Journal of Ornithology. 156 (4): 893–902. doi:10.1007/s10336-015-1232-3. hdl: 10261/121510 . S2CID   11210186.
  17. ↑ Negret, Pablo Jose; Atkinson, Scott C.; Woodworth, Bradley K.; Corella Tor, Marina; Allan, James R.; Fuller, Richard A.; Amano, Tatsuya (20 April 2022). "Language barriers in global bird conservation". PLOS ONE. 17 (4): e0267151. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1767151N. doi: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0267151 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   9020734 . PMID   35442973. Wikidata Q112271116.
  18. ↑ "Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels" . Retrieved 17 December 2021.
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