Reproduction Biology of Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus Crispus) in the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park Anni (Koci) Kallfa; Taulant Bino Albanian Development Fund Tirana, ALBANIA

Abstract The Divjaka-Karavasta wetlands are coastal lagoons, included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, fulfilling no less than 6 Ramsar criteria, especially regarding total wintering water birds. The Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus population, an internationally endangered species, has been encountered in Albania since the beginning of the last century. Although the pelican is included in the national list of strictly protected species, currently it is still under threat. Its population was reduced from 200- 250 breeding pairs in 1960’s down to no more than 30 breeding pairs currently. Different factors have contributed to this species being at risk. The correlation between the trophic component and the pelican breeding pairs is analyzed in detail in this study. Data on the number of breeding pairs has been collected through frequent site visits from mid-april to mid-june, visiting the inner lagoon islands, beaches, dunes and shrubs. Data has also been received from the monitoring reports of the Government of Albania and other studies. Keywords: Dalmatian pelican, Divjaka-Karavasta complex, breeding pairs, reproduction biology, trophic component, population.

Background Pelecanus crispus, or the Dalmatian Pelican, belongs to the order Pelecaniformes, family Pelecanidae (Figure 1). Pelicans produce one to four eggs per nest, and the young birds hatch after one month. They live on food processed in their parents’ throat pouch. Reproductive success, which means the number of young birds that leave the nest, varies from one colony to the next, ranging from 0 to 0.85 birds per nest (Peja et al., 1995).

Figure 1: Dalmatian pelican Pelicans catch fish with their pouched bills, mostly as the prey is swimming near the surface. BALWOIS 2010 ‐ Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia ‐ 25, 29 May 2010 1

The Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is noted in Albania from the beginning of this century. Its population has been continuously decreasing as a result of different factors, some analysed in this study. Although the pelican is included in the list of strictly protected species, actually it is still under threat. From 200-250 breeding pairs that were counted in the ‘80’s, now the nesting population in Albania is evaluated to be no more than 30 pairs. So, the Dalmatian pelican population has been continuously decreasing, with the exception of the last 5 years. Among the factors that influence the survival and well being of the Dalmatian pelican’s colonies, it is worth mentioning: o Killing of individuals due to illegal hunting o Trading of young birds o Destruction of nests and continuous disturbance of the nesting colony o Destruction of hydrological regime and degradation of habitats for feeding and reproduction o Competing with fishermen and inhabitants of the area for food (fish, etc.) The Karavasta Wetland Complex, with a surface of 22,230 hectares, is the most important area for wintering and reproduction of waterbirds in Albania and one of the few at global level (Bino, 1998). The presence of the Dalmatian Pelican makes this ecosystem internationally important. The Divjaka-Karavasta National Park (40º56’ north and 19º29’ east) is the largets non-coastal complex in Albania, made of four lagoons with a total of approximately 5,000 hectares, of sand dunes and a river delta. It is situated between Shkumbini River in the north and Myzeqe canal in the south . The Karavasta lagoon is the largest water surface of this complex. This park is one of the three Ramsar sites in Albania, the other two being the Butrint Wetland Complex and Shkodra Lake and Buna River Complex. The noticable biodiversity, expressed in the large number of plants and animals is the most important feature of the Divjaka-Karavasta ecosystem. The ecosystem is of national and international importance due to the fact that it hosts a number of endemic species, a considerable number of nesting waterbirds and many endangered species at national and international level (Peja, 1998).

Figure 2. Landscape of the Divjaka-Karavasta ecosystem Sampling and methodology Data on the number of breeding pairs has been collected through site visits from mid-april to mid-june, in the inner lagoons, beaches, dunes and shrubs. Monitoring reports of the Albanian government and other studies have also been referred to. The average number of pelican eggs per nest is two to three and reproductive success ranges from 0 to 0.85 youngsters per nest. Data on the pelican feeding has been collected through “vomit” samples of small individuals. These samples have been further analysed in order to conclude on the specific types of fish the pelican feeds on in this ecosystem, and on the size of the prey.

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Results and discussions The histogram below (Figure 3), shows the variation of the number of nesting pairs of Dalmatian Pelican in Divjaka-Karavasta over the period 1960-2007, based on the data collected through the method described above.

Number of nesting pairs of Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus Divjake-Karavasta (years 1960-2007) 250 225

200

150

100 81 62 58 52 55 50 48 38 50 24 23 27 19 19 19 20 27 27 0

Figure 3: Number of Dalmatian Pelican nesting pairs 1960-2007 Studies on the feeding ecology of the dalmatian pelican kaçurrel (Crivelli et al,.1991) show that they feed alone or in groups of two or three individuals. The most preferred species are eel (Anguilla anguilla), mullet (Mugil spp.), gobius (Gobius bucchichi), garfish (Belone belone), sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and crab (Carcinus aestuari). They usually consume an average of 10-13 kg fish per day. Table 1 below represents the data collected over a period of 30 years on the yearly fish catch, registered in the fishing cooperative of Divjaka region. Data has been selected based on the preferred diet of Dalmatian Pelican, plus one other type (seabream, Sparus auratus), not part of the pelican diet, which has been entered into the table for comparison reasons. Table 1: Yearly fish catch for economically valuable fish and crab over a 30 year period ( Crivelli et al., 1996) Year Mullet Eel Gobius Garfish Crab Seabrea (Anguilla (Gobius (Belon (Carcinu m (Mugil sp) anguilla) bucchichi e s (Sparus ) belone) aestuari) auratus) Ton/vit 1976 85.3 44.3 9.3 7.7 20.6 3.6 1977 74.6 41.5 14.3 5.5 57.6 2.2 1978 81 44.5 16 9.9 25 4.4 1979 78.4 42 6.9 0.8 37.8 5.4 1980 72.2 51.2 3.4 0.4 48 6.7 1981 70.1 53.1 4.5 0.2 45 5.8 1982 68.5 55.5 2.9 0.3 46.4 6.8 1983 69.4 51 2.5 0.55 41.2 7.1 1984 66.4 58.9 14.5 0.9 43.6 7.5

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1985 63.9 57.8 1.5 0.2 42.8 7.3 1986 51.9 61.2 1 0.4 39 8.1 1987 58.2 72.9 1.2 0.4 47.7 10.8 1988 79.3 59.9 22.4 0 54 21.8 1989 84.1 45.9 16.2 0.4 48.4 13.7 1990 80.1 51.3 28.8 0.6 59.3 15.5 1991 60.2 50.5 20 1.1 58 6.9 1992 59.8 27.1 0.8 0.1 0 5.6 1993 68.9 23.8 0.7 0.5 0 6.8 1994 51.3 21 16.7 5.6 0 7.1 1995 28.3 24.6 0 10.9 0 3.6

There are some important factors to consider when drawing conclusions on the data represented in Table 1. Based on the fact that the Dalmatian Pelican feeds during the day and this corresponds with the time fishermen practice fishing in the lagoon (Crivelli et al., 1991), we might conclude that these data may serve as an indicator of the amount of fish consumed by the pelicans. Table Nr. 2 (Peja et al.,1995), represents fish dimensions preferred by the fishermen and by the pelican. It can be noticed that the length of mullet individuals caught in the lagoon varies from 60-200 mm, and the length of mullet individuals preferred by the pelicans in Karavasta , according to Crivelli et al. (1996), varies from 200 to 420 mm. The length of eel individuals in this same lagoon varies from 200 to 300 mm and the length of eels caught by the fishermen varies from 250 to 400 mm. Regarding body length of Gobius species, the pelicans prefer 80-200 mm (Crivelli et al., 1996) and fishermen prefer 200-220 mm (Peja et al. 1996). The length of garfish preferred by the pelicans varies from 160-200 mm and length preferred by the fishermen varies from 300 to 350 mm. This data is represented in table form below (Table 2). Table 2.: Preferred lengths of different fish species by the fishermen and by the pelicans Mullet Eel Gobius Garfish Length preferred by the 200-420 200-300 80-200 160-200 pelican Length preferred by the 60-200 250-400 200-220 300-350 fishermen (mm) A general conclusion drawn from this data would be that fishermen do not compete with pelicans based on the preferred fish dimensions, even if it is the same fish species. However, overexploitation of fish resources causes a decrease in fish population, despite the difference in preference for dimensions between pelicans and the fishermen. This draws to the conclusion that exploited fishing poses a threat to the pelican colony in the Divjaka-Karavasta ecosystem. Data presented in the histogram above (figure 3) and in Table 1 has been processed in a comparative graph (Figure 4). It can be noticed that there is a positive relationship between yearly fish catch and number of breeding pelican pairs in tons/year.

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100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Mullet Eel Crabs Pelican pairs

Seabream Gobi Figure 4. Comparative graph showing the relation between number of pelican breeding pairs and amount in tons/year of fish caught over the period 1975-1995. The connection between the number of pelican breeding pairs and annual fish catch shown in figure 4, may be explained with the amount of fish caught, which caused the reduction of pelican breeding pairs. The number of pelican breeding pairs depends also on the environmental factors, such as wind, water depth and fluctuations, pesticides, disturbances, etc., which have caused the reduction of the number of pelican individuals. Results and recommendations Lagoon eutrophication damages the fish, as well as other organisms. Therefore, maintenance of communication between the lagoon and the sea is a priority and may be achieved through the continuous dredging of the three main channels connecting the Karavasta lagoon to the sea. References Bino, T., Haxhiu, I., Peja, N. & Gjiknuri, (2001); Functions, values and conservation status of Albanian wetlands. Proceedings of Konference of Biological Sciences Bino, T., (1998); Nesting waterbirds of Karavasta complex. 38-43. Zekhuis, M. & Tempelman, D. (editors). Breeding birds of the Albanian Wetlands. WIWO - Report Nr. 64, Zeist. Crivelli, A.J., Catsadorakis, G., Jerrentrup, H., Hatzilacos, D. and Michev, T., (1991); Conservation and management of pelicans nesting in the Palearctic. Le Sambuc, France: Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat.

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Crivelli, A.J., Hafner, H., Fasola, M., Erwin, R.M., McCrimmon, Jr. D.A., (1996) ; Ecology, conservation and management of colonial waterbirds in the Mediterranean region. Colonial waterbirds , 19 (Special Publication): 1-30. Crivelli A. J., (1996); Action plan for the Dalmatian pelican in Europe. Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat, France. Hagemeijer, W.J.M., (1993) ; Wintering waterbirds in the coastal wetlandwetlands of Albania. WIWO report Nr. 49. Zeist, the Netherlands: WIWO. Hunt, D. and Johnson, C., (1995); Environmental Management Systems. Principles and Practice. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), (1993); The WetlandWetlands of Central and Eastern Europe. Cambridge, UK. Montevecchi, W.A., (1993); Birds as indicators of change in marine prey stocks. In Birds as monitors of environmental change. Edited by R.W. Furness and J.J.D. Greenwood. London: Chapman & Hall. Peja, N., (1998); Situata aktuale ne kompleksin Divjake-Karavasta. Raport teknik. [Current situation in the Divajaka-Karavasta complex. Technical Report]. Tirane, Albania: REC. Peja, N., Vaso, A., Miho, A., Rakaj, N. and Crivelli, A., (1995); Characteristics of Albanian lagoons and their fisheries. Le Sambuc, France: Elsevier Science. PHARE, (1996a ;. Karavasta Lagoon-Wetland Management Project: Ramsar Site Management Plan. Le Sambuc, France: Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat

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