The Status of European shag Phalacrocorax Aristotelis population on the Atlantic coast of Iberian Peninsula.

Abstract

A regional analysis of the status of the European Shag Phalacrocorax [Stictocarbo]aristotelis population on the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula is presented. Thisis the first census to be made of this population. The total population was estimated tobe approximately 2239 pairs in 1990-94. The first counts from Euskadi and Cantabriaare presented, indicating a population of 57-67 pairs in Euskadi in 1994 and 36-41pairs in Cantabria in 1992. The first census in Asturias dates from 1986 with 98-124pairs, and the population has increased at an annual rate of 6%, reaching 199-250pairs in 1997. There are records of partial counts made in Galicia since 1976. Thepopulation appears to have stabilised on the Cíes and Ons Islands (Rías Baixas,Pontevedra), where it was increasing at 8-9% annually. The total count of 1462breeding pairs on Cíes and Ons accounts for 66% of the Atlantic Iberian population. Asfar as is known, the population in Portugal has stabilised, but there has been no censusof the southern colonies since 1983. On the island of Berlenga there were 60 pairs in1990-94, the number of pairs having changed very little since the first count in 1939.Velando, A., Docampo, F. & Alvarez, D. 1999. The status of the European ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis population on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula.Atlantic Seabirds 1(3): 105-114