• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PROGRAMME
  • REGION
  • DOCUMENTS
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust PONT Logo
Logo Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PROGRAMME
  • REGION
  • DOCUMENTS
  • NEWS
  • DONATE
3 MIN READ

Managing conflicting conservation goals: the case of the Grecian Juniper endemic woods and the Great Cormorant

10 August 2020
-
PONT News
<?php echo pulse_output(); ?>

In 2006, the Public Institution Galicica National Park, in cooperation with the Macedonian Ecological Society, organized a workshop to address a pressing management problem – the impacts of the largest nesting colony of the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) in the country, on the old stand of the Grecian juniper woods on the Golem Grad Island in the Greater Prespa Lake, North Macedonia – a priority habitat type in the European Union (code *9560). A few decades ago, the growing nesting colony on the Island of Vidrineci, in the Lesser Prespa Lake, Greece, has gradually caused a complete die-off of all Greek Juniper trees (Juniperus excelsa) on that small island. While controlling the growth of the nesting colony of the great cormorant was considered, among other options, the workshop participants, including park staff, scientists and local communities, eventually agreed that more information was needed before taking any direct action.

The first Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or protocol for monitoring the impacts of the great cormorant colony on the Grecian juniper woods on the Golem Grad Island was developed in 2010, as one of the 22 monitoring protocols constituting the first long-term monitoring programme of Galicica National Park.

The implementation of the SOP for the great cormorant requires significant logistical support (off road vehicles, a boat) and sustained human effort over several days in challenging environmental conditions.

The first incomplete measurements were made during the testing period of the monitoring programme in 2010, but it was only in 2013 that the protocol was fully implemented. By 2013, each tree bearing a cormorant nest on it since 2010 was marked with a numbered plastic tag, in addition to recording its GPS coordinates (492 trees in total; see the picture on the left). The field measurements include the number/location of the trees bearing at least one nest, tree species, general condition of the tree (dead or vital), and number of active and/or inactive nests.

The measurements were repeated in 2016, in cooperation with the Society for the Protection of Prespa from Greece and the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) and then in 2019 and 2020 in cooperation with the MES and including two new park staff.

While the changes in the teams implementing the SOP may be responsible for some inconsistencies in the implementation of the SOP, the results from the four measurements clearly show an upward trend in the number of active nests, as can be seen in the graph. The data also show that the number of occupied trees has an increasing trend as well.

The information about the nesting colony of the great cormorant is currently being complemented by surveys on the nests of the grey heron that are embedded within it, while a master degree research is underway to determine the impact of the abiotic factors and pathogens, on the annual growth of the old Greek Juniper trees using a dendrochronological analysis.

*  The article was written in cooperation with the staff of the Public Institution Galicica National Park and is the first in a series of several articles sharing the experience of PONT grantees in monitoring biodiversity in the Wider Prespa Area.

 

 

  • tweet 
  • share 
  • share 
  • share 
← PREVIOUS POST
Transboundary Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Management Plan for Lake Prespa Monument of Nature
NEXT POST →
PONT and CEPF support the development of a new generation of young professionals in plant conservation

Related News

Other posts that you should not miss.

Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and PONT join forces to implement the Action Plan concerning Lake Prespa

23 December 2020
-
Posted by PONT

The ongoing dramatic water level drop of Lake Prespa has prompted the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of North Macedonia …

Read More →
PONT News
3 MIN READ

Celebrating European Day of Parks in Prespa

27 May 2019
-
Posted by PONT

On 24 May 2019, the European Day of Parks, the Prespa National Park in Albania offered a guided tour for the …

Read More →
PONT News
1 MIN READ

“Working towards transboundary conservation of the Prespa region as PrespaNet partners” by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) in Prespa

19 March 2021
-
Posted by PONT

Conserving Prespa is impossible without transboundary collaboration at all levels of governance. The project ‘Working towards transboundary conservation of the Prespa region …

Read More →
PONT News
2 MIN READ
Archives
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • July 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • September 2016
  • May 2016
  • December 2015
Categories
  • PONT News
  • Press Release
Contact

Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust (PONT)
Abdi Toptani Str.,
Torre Drin Tower nr. 35/2,
Tirana | Albania
info@pont.org

Donations
Bank: Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
SWIFT: BFSWDE33XXX
IBAN: DE84550205000008656500
Recent Posts
  • “Transboundary Conservation, Partnership working and the opening of their new office – 2020 an eventful year” by PPNEA
  • 2020 a year of resilience, partnership working and the sightings of a Balkan Lynx by the Public Institution Galicica National Park (PIGNP)
  • “Working towards transboundary conservation of the Prespa region as PrespaNet partners” by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) in Prespa
  • 2020 Highlights by Prespa National Park in Albania
  • 2020 highlights of the SPP
PONT
  • About
  • Job Opportunities
  • Documents and Publications
  • Region
  • Contact
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!

IMPRINT  DISCLAIMER  PONT JOBS    DOCUMENTS & PUBLICATIONS

© Prespa-Ohrid Nature Trust

Managing conflicting conservation goals: the case of the Grecian Juniper endemic woods and the Great Cormorant - Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Prespa Ohrid Nature Trust
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.