SEAGHOSTS: The European project uncovering the secret lives of storm petrels is underway
From the Mediterranean Sea to the Northeast Atlantic, an international consortium including ISPRA will study the smallest and most elusive seabirds to protect them from new threats from the sea.
Understanding how animals move in nature and the environments they frequent is key to safeguarding biodiversity. This understanding is the basis for SEAGHOSTS "Winged ghosts wandering the oceans" a project funded by the European Commission that, between 2024 and 2027, will investigate the spatial and trophic ecology of storm petrels (Hydrobatidae and Oceanitidae families), the smallest and most elusive seabird species.
(Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) al nido. (Foto: Andrea Benvenuti) 
Italy is participating in the project with a multidisciplinary team that includes the ISPRA Migratory Bird Area and the Universities of Milan and Palermo. The role of ISPRA and the two Italian universities is crucial because our seas are home to significant colonies of storm petrels, threatened by human pressures that require urgent, updated, and shared decision-making tools.
Further information:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X22007123
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03154-2
https://www.unipa.it/dipartimenti/stebicef