Seabirds of the Aegean

Seabirds are truly marine long-lived species and among the most threatened groups of birds. The Aegean Sea, with its intricate insular area and thousands of uninhabited islets, hosts 40 seabird species, of which 19 are residents or regular breeders. As they depend both on land and sea, seabirds are confronted with a multitude of threats with cumulative impacts on their breeding success and survival. In the Aegean, the most significant threats comprise predation of eggs, chicks and adults by rats, bycatch in fishing gear, declining prey availability, pollution, disturbance at breeding colonies and roosts, impacts from renewable energy installations and of course climate change. Mitigation measures and conservation actions are discussed, as well as the need to designate a trans-national network of Marine Protected Areas to support all vital life stages of seabirds. The Hellenic Ornithological Society/BirdLife Greece has been monitoring seabird colonies since 1995, recording seabird density and movements at-sea and has contributed to the identification of the national marine Important Bird Area (IBA) inventory, which has led to a significant extension of Greece’s Natura 2000 Network.