Balearic Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater :: Puffinus mauretanicus Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 085 On today’s show we learn about the Balearic Shearwater, a critically endangered migratory seabird who breeds on the Balearic Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, and who in the non-breeding season migrates to coastlines across Western Europe and North Africa. Its scientific name is Puffinus mauretanicus and it was first described in 1921. For more information about conservation and protection of the Balearic Shearwater please see SEO Birdlife at https://seo.org/. (00:05) Intro (02:05) Species Information (26:58) Citations (29:08) Music (36:31) Pledge Research for today’s show was compiled from: Arcos, J.M. (compiler) 2011. International species action plan for the Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus. SEO/BirdLife & BirdLife International. - https://acap.aq/advisory-committee/ac6/ac6-information-papers/155-ac6-inf-04-balearic-shearwater-action-plan/file Arcos, J. M., & Oro, D. (2002). Significance of fisheries discards for a threatened Mediterranean seabird, the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 239, 209–220. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps239209 BirdLife International. 2018. Puffinus mauretanicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22728432A132658315. – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728432A132658315.en de la Cruz, A., Pereira, J. M., Arroyo, G. M., Ramos, J. A., Alonso, H., Arcos, J. M., Rodríguez, B., Bécares, J., Ramos, F., Tornero, J., Saavedra, C., Vázquez, J. A., García-Barón, I., Astarloa, A., Louzao, M., Laran, S., Dorémus, G., Waggitt, J., & Paiva, V. H. (2025). Global distribution, threats and population trends of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. Biological Conservation, 305, Article 111047. – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111047 eloisa matheu. Sound Recording. 2020. Xeno-Canto. XC580250. – www.xeno-canto.org/580250 Guilford, T., Wynn, R., McMinn, M., Rodríguez, A., Fayet, A., Maurice, L., Jones, A., & Meier, R. (2012). Geolocators reveal migration and pre-breeding behaviour of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e33753. – https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033753 iNaturalist – Balearic Islands threatened species Kirwan, G. M., J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, and T. S. David (2021). Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. – https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.balshe1.01.1 Lewin, P. J., Wynn, J., Arcos, J. M., Austin, R. E., Blagrove, J., Bond, S., Carrasco, G., Delord, K., Fisher-Reeves, L., García, D., Gillies, N., Guilford, T., Hawkins, I., Jaggers, P., Kirk, C., Louzao, M., Maurice, L., McMinn, M., Micol, T., Padget, O. (2024). Climate change drives migratory range shift via individual plasticity in shearwaters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(6), Article e2312438121. – https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312438121 Meier, R. E., Votier, S. C., Wynn, R. B., Guilford, T., McMinn Grivé, M., Rodríguez, A., Newton, J., Maurice, L., Chouvelon, T., Dessier, A., & Trueman, C. N. (2017). Tracking, feather moult and stable isotopes reveal foraging behaviour of a critically endangered seabird during the non-breeding season. Diversity and Distributions, 23(2), 130–145. – https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12509 Oro, D., Aguilar, J. S., Igual, J. M., & Louzao, M. (2004). Modelling demography and extinction risk in the endangered Balearic shearwater. Biological Conservation, 116(1), 93–102. – https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00180-0 OSPAR Commission. (2022). Status assessment 2022 - Balearic shearwater. OSPAR Assessments. – https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/committee-assessments/biodiversity-committee/status-assesments/balearic-shearwater/ Ramírez-Bal, M., García-Barón, I., García, D., Arcos, J. M., Carrasco, G., Lewin, P., Delord, K., & Louzao, M. (2026). Individual migratory patterns of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater: A multi-colony and multi-year study in the NE Atlantic. Global Ecology and Conservation, 65, Article e03989. – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03989 Rodríguez, A., D. García, B. Rodríguez, E. Cardona, L. Parpal, and P. Pons. 2015. "Artificial lights and seabirds: is light pollution a threat for the threatened Balearic petrels?" Journal of Ornithology 156 (4): 893-902. – https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1232-3 Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balearic_shearwater Yésou, P. (2006). The Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus: A review of facts and questions. Atlantic Seabirds, 8(1/2), 73–79. – https://natuurtijdschriften.nl/pub/546216 Please find us on the web at Bad at Goodbyes and on instagram. Please subscribe and rate/review Bad at Goodbyes wherever you listen to podcasts. Please help spread the word about the show and about the species we feature. Please take care of each other, and all of our fellow travelers. A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m a musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.