Ongoing Projects

Funded by Horizon Europe Framework Programme, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

PI. Jacob González-Solís

2024 - 2028

Objective: To reduce marine megafauna by-catch and promote sustainable fishery management in the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean through the collection and analysis of high-quality data, identification of by-catch hot spots, and understanding interaction drivers. This will involve observer programmes, electronic monitoring, machine learning, and GPS tracking, as well as evaluating mitigation measures and fostering collaboration among scientists, the fishing industry, and policymakers. 

 Funded by Biodiversa+, European Union.

PI. Raül Ramos

2024 - 2027

Objective: To enhance the understanding and conservation of European storm petrels through research on their ecology, distribution, and threats. 

1.  Examining the spatial distribution and trophic ecology of the storm petrels that breed along Europe.

2. Understanding the annual distribution, migratory connectivity and at-sea behaviour of storm petrel populations inhabiting European seas. 

3. Establishing the Conservation Units for the storm petrels that breed in Europe through integrative taxonomy. 

4. Evaluating the overlap between the spatio-temporal distribution and abundance of storm petrels and the cumulative effects of human activities at sea. 

5. Producing a practical toolkit for improving research and conservation of storm petrels at colony sites.

Funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades.

PI. Raül Ramos

2024 - 2027

Objective: To understand the impact of climate change on the movement, population ecology, and conservation of seabirds, evaluating how environmental conditions affect abundance, distribution, trophic ecology, breeding success, and population dynamics.

1. Explore Annual Variations in Environmental Conditions: Investigate temporal trends in environmental conditions in the breeding and non-breeding areas of pelagic seabirds across the Atlantic Ocean.

2. Understand Ecological Niche Changes: Assess the effects of changing environmental conditions on seabird distribution, phenology, trophic ecology, and behavior (e.g., migratory vs. resident species) over the past two decades.

3. Examine Fitness and Population Dynamics: Study the influence of changing environmental conditions on fitness components (breeding performance, adult survival) and its impact on population dynamics.

4. Project Future Impacts of Climate Change: Model the potential effects of climate change on breeding performance and migratory phenology under future environmental scenarios.

 Funded by Programa Pleamar, Fundación Biodiversidad. 

PI. Jacob González-Solís

2024 - 2025

Objective: To enhance the conservation and management of marine biodiversity by collecting and analyzing data on human activities and seabird tracking, and by proposing updates to marine protected areas based on identified Key Biodiversity Areas. 

1. Gather all available spatial information on human activities in the marine environment.

2. Expand remote tracking studies of seabird species and populations that are most sensitive and poorly known.

3. Collect and analyze all available data on GPS tracking of seabirds using new standardized analysis tools to delineate Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) based on GPS tracking.

4. Analyze the overlap between KBAs, the use of the marine environment by human activities, propose adjustments to the marine Natura 2000 network, and develop a new proposal for the expansion of the Marine Protected Areas (RAMPE).

Co-funded by the European Union

PI. Jacob González-Solís

2024 - 2026

Objective: To support the conservation and recovery of the Manx Shearwater by identifying breeding areas, monitoring nests to understand ecological needs, mitigating the impact of terrestrial predators, and raising public awareness for shared conservation efforts. 

1. Identify Breeding Areas: Locate nests to understand threats and habitat requirements;

2. Monitoring identified nests: Acquisition of knowledge about the species' ecology during the region's breeding season;

3. Mitigate Terrestrial Predators: Reduce the impact of terrestrial predators, particularly rats, to support population recovery and sustainability;

4. Public Awareness: Raise awareness among the general public and foster a shared responsibility for conserving the Manx Shearwater.