Mallorca's Sa Dragonera seeks wildlife research funds

Sa Dragonera is asking for public backing to keep long-term wildlife research running, after a new funding campaign launched on Monday, 21 September. Individuals, groups and institutions can donate towards research, monitoring and conservation work on the island through the Fundación Universidad Empresa de Baleares website. The Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, Imedea CSIC-UIB, says the work needs years of observation to produce answers.

Posters at the Sa Dragonera Natural Park visitor centre put the island's native wildlife at the heart of the appeal. They show the animals being studied and carry a QR code leading to the fundraising page.

Birds, gulls and lizards under watch

The island is set to serve as a field laboratory for the Balearic shearwater, Mediterranean Cory's shearwater, Mediterranean yellow-legged gull, Audouin's gull, European storm petrel, Eleonora's falcon and Balearic lizard. The Balearic shearwater is unique to the islands and ranks among Europe's most threatened seabirds.

Each year, the research is coordinated with the natural park's management. It includes tracking individual lizards, shearwaters and gulls, counting seabirds and birds of prey, studying bird diversity by season and watching for introduced predators.

GPS tracks where birds feed and rest

Researchers use GPS devices to follow some birds remotely. The data shows where they travel and identifies areas used for feeding, breeding or resting.

Imedea says the value lies in returning to the same populations over many years. That builds a record capable of revealing changes in numbers, distribution, breeding and behaviour that one-off studies can miss. If the work stops, gaps in the data could make it harder to spot trends or understand how populations respond to environmental change.

Topics: Nature & wildlife · Environment · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com