Projects

The Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) is a widespread long-distant migratory shorebird, protected under Bulgarian legislation. Along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, which the Grey Plover visits during its autumn and spring migration, its foraging ecology is poorly studied. The project investigates the Grey Plover’s diet composition and feeding preferences, as well as its endoparasite (helminth) infestation, by DNA metabarcoding of faecal samples, and compares them to prey availability at its migration stopover sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The results contribute to our understanding of coastal food webs and ecosystem functioning, and could be used for designing conservation and management strategies for the littoral and supralittoral zones of the Black Sea coast as critical habitats for Grey Plover and other migratory shorebirds.