Protected coastal areas boost survival and conservation of endangered Mediterranean ospreys

Reintroductions represent an opportunity to restore local biodiversity. However, they need monitoring plans before and during their implementation to ensure concrete and lasting results. During the last century, the osprey Pandion haliaetus, a medium-large sized bird of prey specialized in catching fish and strictly dependent on coastal habitats, suffered a dramatic demographic decline becoming extinct as a breeder in several countries of the Mediterranean area, including Italy (in 1968). Thanks to conservation efforts and reintroduction programs, the species gradually recovered though it is still evaluated as endangered at regional scale and critically endangered in Italy, thus representing a priority from a conservation point of view . In this context, protected areas represent one of the most important tools for limiting the current loss of species and habitats, while evaluating and quantifying their effectiveness is of fundamental importance to better understand their long-term effects on the conservation of target species and biological communities. In this work, we evaluated the role and effectiveness of coastal protected areas as an essential tool for the survival of the species in the Mediterranean (Europe and Africa).