Within the scope of the actions C6.1 โ€“ Restoring islet seabirds’ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ต; C8.1 โ€“ Control and eradication of IAS plant species in terrestrial restored ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ต; and C8.2 โ€“ Control and eradication of IAS animal species in terrestrial restored ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ต, the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, visited the Ilhรฉu do Topo (islet). The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and the Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies (DRPM) also participated in the visit.
SPEA installed an ARU (autonomous recording unit) on this islet on Sรฃo Jorge, which will record the vocalizations of seabirds, thus allowing to determine which species frequent it.
A survey of the flora present on the islet has also been carried out, with only one native species recorded, namely ๐˜—๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ด. Otherwise, the vegetation is dominated by pasture species.
With the information gathered during the visit, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change will now proceed to plan measures to recover this ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ต.
With the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.