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implemented. Members of the PSG are participating by
offering expert advice and training.
The participants of the 1st workshop on pelican research
and conservation in SE Europe which was held in Prespa on
1–2 May 2012, prepared an article based on the main results
of the workshop. The article is about the current status (2011–
2012) of Dalmatian and Great White Pelicans in the Black
Sea / Mediterranean flyway and has now been submitted for
publication.
A joint initiative was launched by the Society for the
Protection of Prespa and the Hellenic Ornithological Society,
to provide training and guidance to management bodies of
protected areas in Greece, which host Dalmatian pelican
nesting colonies (Amvrakikos, Messolonghi and Karla);
focusing on identification, ageing, surveying and monitoring
of breeding performance in these colonies. Training
commenced in 2012, with two on-site visits at Amvrakikos,
and more visits are scheduled for 2014. In April 2013,
the Society for the Protection of Prespa and the Hellenic
Ornithological Society organized the first simultaneous census
of Dalmatian and Great White Pelicans throughout Greece;
i.e. on all wetlands where pelicans regularly occur. This data
has allowed us to make the first-ever approximation of birds
present in the country during the breeding season. The
census targeted all birds (adult and immature) regardless of
breeding status.
Twelve Dalmatian pelicans of various ages were caught
and tagged with GPS transmitters in 2012 and 2013, by the
Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) within its permanent
Pelican conservation program. In this context, a member
of SPP’s Conservation and Research Team visited Israel in
October 2012, following an invitation by pelican experts from
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) with the objective
of gaining experience and training in capture and marking
techniques. Six of the pelicans are still being tracked during
post-breeding migration and wintering. All SPP actions for
pelicans were funded by the MAVA Foundation (Switzerland)
and the Green Fund (Greek State).
A project called ‘Investigation of Population Size and
Trend, Breeding Biology, Migration and Gene Flow Patterns
of Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) in Turkey in a
Conservation Perspective’ which started in 2011, continues
to be successful. This project is funded by TUBITAK. Some
of the activities included in this project are ringing, (ongoing in
four wetlands – more than 150 juveniles were ringed in 2013),
tagging and tracking (four juveniles were wing tagged with
transmitters for the first time in Lake Aktas, Turkey, and are
being tracked regularly).
Giorgos Catsadorakis
Chair, Pelican Specialist Group
Pinniped Specialist Group
The activities of the Pinniped Specialist Group in 2013
included; extensive interface with and participation in the
newly formed Climate Change Specialist Group; serving as
a contact point for the IUCN Marine and Polar Programme,
various regional offices and the SSC / CEESP Sustainable
Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group on seal-related issues,
and preparing to undertake the upcoming re-assessment of
pinniped species on The IUCN Red List.
The latter activity included expanding our group, with
two new members to improve the coverage of available
knowledge on pinnipeds globally and to deal with taxonomic
reassessments. Critically Endangered species and populations
remain a focal point for the group, but members of the
PSG are also heavily engaged with local threats to pinniped
populations presented by fisheries operations, industrial
development and in some cases, unsustainable harvesting of
the pinnipeds themselves.
Dr Kit Kovacs
Chair, Pinniped Specialist Group
Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG)
The PBSG is unlike the majority of other Specialist Groups as
it not only focusses on a single species, but centers its work
around a regional single-species conservation agreement.
This is the ‘Agreement on the conservation of polar bears’ of
1973, which was negotiated by the group in its infancy, and
taken care of by the group for a long period while the Parties
to the agreement were inactive between 1981 and 2007. The
PBSG has taken a conservative approach to this very
important task and has therefore reserved group membership
for active expertise in the field of polar bear research and
management.
Dalmation pelicans – adults, immatures and juveniles in the Evros Delta,
Greece. © Giorgos Catsadorakis
Atlantic Walrus. © Kit M. Kovacs and Christian Lydersen, Norwegian Polar
Institute
Specialist Groups, Task Forces and Red List Authorities
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