Mediterranean Marine Avifauna

May I first congratulate, inconditionally, the Association MEDMARAVIS for organizing this symposium and for inviting me re­ presenting the Sardinian Ministry of the Environment. I would like to assert that such initiatives help a great deal and in a concrete way, Heads of government departments in charge of land use and natural resources. At this first symposium of the Mediterranean Marine Avifau­ na I must congratulate the scientific faculty for proposing such an ample spectrum of high quality papers dealing with diverse parts of the Mediterranean and beyond. I am sure that their con­ tributions will further scientific research, will help to pro­ tect our environment and will lead, more especially, to the ma­ nagement and conservation of seabirds. To know in order to manage has often been said at this sym­ posium. In fact, it is not possible to manage thoughtfully and rationally the natural resources without knowing more profound­ ly how they function. This reasoning is also valid on a more ge­ neral scale: regional planning of human activities should not disregard the evaluation of the ecosystem.

Contenu

1 : National Census Surveys.- "Laridae and Sternidae breeding in Italy: Report on the 1982-84 Census Project"..- "Seabirds of the Southern Sardinian Islets"..- "The First Breeding Case of the Storm Petrel in Greece". 3.- "The Status of the Seabirds of the Extreme Western Mediterranean". 3.- "Seabirds along the Mediterranean Sea Coast of Egypt"..- "Importance of the Mediterranean for Wintering Cormorants"..- "Status and Conservation of the Storm Petrel in Sicily"..- "The Status of Breeding Storm Petrels on the Mediterranean Coast of France"..- 2 : Data Banks and Census Techniques.- "Data Banks and Population Monitoring in France"..- "Monitoring Seabirds in the North Atlantic"..- "Seabird Census and Study Techniques"..- 3: Population Control of Invading Species.- "The Breeding Biology of Audouin's Gull at the Chafarinas Islands"..- "The Larus cachinnans Colony of the Chafarinas Islands"..- "Nest-site Selection and Interaction of Yellow-legged and Audouin's Gulls at Isola dell'Asinara"..- 4 : Demography and Population Fluctuations.- "Breeding Ecology of Laridae and Sternidae in the Comacchio Wetlands and Recent Population Trends"..- "Fluctuations of the Gull and Tern Populations in the Ebro Delta, north-east Spain, 1960-85"..- "Fluctuations of the Laridae of the Rhône Delta over the past 30 years, 1956-85"..- "Biometrical and Biological Considerations on the Cory's Shearwater"..- "The Importance of the Iberian Mediterranean Coast as a Wintering Area for Gulls and Terns"..- 5 : Impact Assessment.- "Bardawil Lagoon Baseline Environmental Study and Vulnerability to Oil-Pollution"..- "Pollutant Levels and their Effects on Mediterranean Seabirds"..- "Human Impact on Seabirds in the Balearic Islands"..- "Christmas Island (Pacific Ocean) Seabirds and the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO): 1984 Perspectives"..- "Winter Mortality of Seabirds on the Portuguese Coast"..- 6 : Conservation and Wildlife Management.- "Seabird Conservation Problems in the Maltese Islands"..- "Distribution, Status and Conservation of the Mediterranean Gull in Greece"..- "Breeding Distribution, Numbers and Conservation of Seabirds in Sardinia, 1978-85"..- "Conservation Priorities for Seabirds in Italy"..- 7 : Poster Sessions.- "Seasonal Fluctuations of Gulls in Liguria"..- "Wintering Population of the Common Cormorant in Tuscany, Italy"..- "Some Indications of Laridae in Albania"..- "Status of the Populations of Larus cachinnans and Sterna hirundo nesting in Istria and northern Dalmatia"..- "The 1986 Census of the Breeding Population of Shags in the Balearic Islands"..- "Urban Nesting of Yellow-legged Gulls in Barcelona"..- "Balearic Shearwaters in Western France"..- The Alghero Declaration of 1986 English, French, Italian and Spanish texts.