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Three of the seven species of procellariform breeding birds in the Canary Islands are storm-petrels, all of which are included in Annex I of the
Birds Directive
. According to the GIC Association, their biology and ecology are hardly known, meaning that only the radii of action of the colonies were taken into account for the design of the Special Protection Areas for Marine Birds (SPAs), and that, in addition, they were not included in the designs of the monitoring programmes to comply with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Currently, according to the aforementioned entity, the miniaturization ofremote monitoring devices allows pelagic marine SPAs to be identified, thus increasing the surface area of the marine Natura 2000 Network, so this initiative also contributes to the objectives of the LIFE INTEMARES project. On the other hand, the use of nest boxes is an effective measure for population reinforcement and monitoring of the reproduction of the species under study, which allows improving the status of their populations and initiating new monitoring programmes, providing a global vision of the community of procellariform birds in the Canary Islands.

The general objective of the project has been to improve the breeding populations and describe the biology and ecology of the populations of the three species of storm petrel nesting in the Canary Islands: the common storm petrel(Hydrobates pelagicus), the Madeira storm petrel(Hydrobates castro) and the pechialbo storm petrel(Pelagodroma marina). This acquired knowledge has also allowed us to evaluate the possibility of strengthening seabird monitoring programs in the Canary Islands, and thus contribute to better compliance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by the Spanish state. On the other hand, and in reference to the use of the marine environment, the designation of new marine SPAs has been proposed and, consequently, the extension of the Natura 2000 Network area. Finally, a complete proposal for management plans has been made for two of the three species under study.

The specific objectives were as follows:

• To strengthen the populations of European storm petrels, Madeira storm-petrels and pecchialbo in the Canary Islands.
• Monitor the reproductive biology of these three species, as well as their land habitat requirements and relative abundance.
• Feasibility analysis of the expansion of seabird monitoring programmes in the Canary Islands for the Directorate General for Nature Protection of the Government of the Canary Islands with the aim of improving compliance with the Framework Directive of the Marine Strategy.
• To know the use that these species make of the sea, in order to propose the designation of new marine SPAs and thus increase the surface area of the Natura 2000 Network in Spanish waters.
• Carry out management plans for two of the three species (those listed as “Endangered” in the Spanish Catalog of Threatened Species).
• To disseminate the information obtained among the general public, so that these species are perceived by popular culture as part of the native fauna of the Canary Islands.

• Placement of 90 nest boxes in the colonies of the 3 species: 20 in those of the Pechialbo storm-petrel, 30 in those of the European storm-petrel and 40 in those of the Madeira storm-petrel.
• Placement of photo-trapping cameras to monitor breeding activity and interaction with other species in breeding colonies of the 3 species.
• Conducting surveys of active areas in the colonies in order to monitor the reproductive biology, habitat requirements and relative abundance of the three species.
• Analysis of the information extracted in the surveys and related to the estimation of demographic parameters of the three species.
• Analysis of the feasibility of the inclusion of nest monitoring of the three species of storm petrels in the monitoring programmes of the Government of the Canary Islands and proposal of methodologies to be implemented.
• Marking with GPS devices of adult specimens of the 3 species: 16 Pechialbos storm-petrels, 8 European storm-petrels and 7 Madeira storm-petrels.
• Modeling the spatial distribution of the three species of storm-petrels in the marine environment from data obtained by GPS tracking.
• Proposal to extend the network of Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) in the waters of the Canary Islands archipelago.
• Elaboration of a complete proposal of Conservation Plans for the Madeira Storm-petrel and for the Pechialbo storm-petrel in Spain, both submitted to MITECO.
• Dissemination and communication of the project through 3 informative videos explaining the work carried out and the main results obtained in the project, as well as explanatory and informative posts published on the association’s social networks.

The “Paíños” project has made important advances in the knowledge of the three species of storm petrels nesting in the Canary Islands: the European storm petrel(Hydrobates pelagicus), the Madeira storm petrel(Hydrobates castro) and the pechialbo storm petrel(Pelagodroma marina).

On the one hand, the actions aimed at monitoring the nests of the three species of storm-petrels in order to know the phenology of the species, their abundance and distribution, have obtained relevant information for their knowledge and for their management and conservation. Although it is true that some conclusions must be taken with caution, the identification of knowledge gaps, of improvements to be implemented in the techniques of sampling the nests or the manipulation of the specimens and in the chambers used, are already valuable lessons for these and other species of seabirds with similar needs and behaviors.

In addition, we have managed to complete the proposal of the most appropriate methodologies and the proposals for conservation plans for the Madeira storm-petrel and the Pechialbo storm-petrel in Spain, which are very relevant to respond to the Birds Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Both proposals include a description of the status of the species in terms of abundance and distribution, identified knowledge gaps, most important threats, impact of each predator and methods of eradication and control, selection of the best conservation measures identified and priority areas for action.

On the other hand, the tagging of specimens of the three species has also provided highly relevant data, especially for the storm petrel, with the culmination in the proposed extension of the marine SPA, which would imply increasing the surface area of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain.

Finally, it is important to highlight the work of seeking synergies and networking with other teams researching on the same species, seeking to obtain complementary results that contribute substantial improvements to the conservation of these species.