The Mediterranean region is one of the world’s richest in terms of diversity of birds of prey, with a total of 53 species of raptors breeding regularly in this region. However, nearly 40% of these species qualify as regionally threatened by the IUCN Red List of Species, mainly due to hunting, trapping, pollution and agriculture, with the highest concentration found in Spain, France and Turkey.

The Michele Panuccio Memorial Grant aims to advance knowledge on the magnitude and geographic range of threats these emblematic species are facing and provides financial support to support field research on the conservation of raptors in the Euro-Mediterranean by young researchers. The fund was established in 2021,  as one of the 14 annual awards and grants of the Raptor Research Foundation, in memory of the Italian ornithologist and ecologist Michele Panuccio (1976-2019) and his extensive and important work on raptor migration in the Mediterranean basin.

THE AWARD

The Panuccio grant will give the opportunity to young researchers, no more than 35 years old, to financially support their work, specifically on:

  • Migration strategies of birds of prey in the Mediterranean; raptor monitoring; bird counts and monitoring at the Mediterranean bottlenecks of Batumi, Antikythera, and Messina strait; the use of visual observations and technologies (radar, GPS); and methods and procedures of collecting data.
  • Raptor behavior, such as differential migration between age and sex classes, the effect of weather and atmospheric currents on migration, social interactions, and orientation and navigation strategies, with a special focus on how raptors overcome large ecological barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea.

AMOUNT: €1,500 + waived page charges

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for the Michele Panuccio Memorial Grant, applicants should submit their CVs and proposals before June 30th, 2023 in the following website:

Panuccio Memorial Grant

Applications should be submitted in English, but translation or editorial assistance is available to applicants whose first language is Spanish, Portuguese, or French.

Read in French here