There are fewer wolves in Spain than official numbers show. A study by the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid (MNCN-CSIC) reveals that: Monitoring methods used to assess the conservation status of the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) in Spain show “inadequate” and inaccurate results, “too optimistic”.
“Overall, our results show that: Low-cost monitoring methods commonly used to assess the status of wolf populations in Spain tend to overestimate both population size and reproductive success.suggesting the need for alternative methods” sums up the study.
To carry out this research, published in ‘Hystrix the Italian Journal of Mammalogy’, the authors monitored and confirmed the wolf population in the Central System of the Iberian Peninsula for eight years (2010-2018). very few herds have regular breeding activity that allows them to produce offspring and spread to other regions in the long run..
These results differ from those obtained by other authors in areas with similar ecological conditions, suggesting that the data used to construct conservation systems for this species “tend to infer”.overly optimistic conclusions about the state of wolf populationsThat is, there are fewer wolves than official statistics collect.
Monitoring of working samples, non-invasive sampling techniques: detection of wolf marks on sampling paths, detection of wolf droppings to delimit flocks, and placement of camera traps to obtain information on pack size.
falling species
A population assessment of two years, typically of study time spent, cannot replace a population dynamics study that requires at least 10 to 15 years of follow-up. Current assessments cannot determine whether the population is increasing, declining, or stable without a significant margin of error.“, declares Victoria González, a researcher at MNCN.
Over eight years of work, the team found: Central System population already showing signs of recession and general decline. And this is in an area where the species has the highest protection category granted by the European Union.
“Based on the results of our research, flocks dispersed in the Central System must have at least four individuals to ensure breeding. However, this is rare because we found the average size of packs to be 3.5 wolves,” explains Fernando Palacios. Having spent decades studying the peninsular wolf situation, Dr.
“This trend towards small pack sizes adversely affects wolf breeding rates and indicates unfavorable conservation situations in the region.Among the reasons for this decline, Palacios points out is an increase in deaths due to human intervention through poaching or accidental crushing.
The authors consider it necessarya greater effortSampling to prevent wolf population management decisions from relying on erroneous estimates and potentially compromising its viability.
Dispute in court
“Decisions regarding the exploitation of populations can only be made by assessing their conservation status, unknown baseline information. more precise monitoring methodology to obtain reliable results on speciesto establish the management of their populations and establish conservation strategies,” says study co-author Abraham Prieto.
The findings of these researchers agree Noting that the situation of Iberian gold is unfavorable, the European Commission’s latest conclusions of the people responsible for the environmentAs parts of the Peninsula continue to disappear, they have proposed measures to reverse this.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition’s response was to include all wolf populations on the Wild Species List under the Special Conservation Regime (Lespre) in September of last year. Until then, only towns south of the Duero River were protected.
The department’s decision, chaired by Teresa Ribera, the angry response of the governments of northwestern Spain –Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and Castilla y León– are home to more than 95% of the Iberian libo population. Farm owners are also against the ministerial order from the front..
The conflict reached the courts of justice and even the Constitutional Court. On the one hand, the autonomous communities of the Northwest challenged the protection of the wolf before the National Supreme Court. They lost the first battle: magistrates rejected a request to take precautionary measures and suspend the enforcement of the ministerial decision.
Latter, The Constitutional Court just overturned the provisions of the Castilla y León Hunting Law Contrary to the ministry order, he described the wolf as a hunting species. The Spanish Government appealed the regional law.
Natural regulator of other species
The wolf is the top predator of the food chain in European ecosystems. natural regulator of animal populations such as deer, roe deer or wild boar, whose populations are increasing rapidly in many regions.
type was destroyed in the Central System in the seventies of the last century. Thirty years later, he returned in 2006. The population that recolonized this area and is the subject of researchers’ study is located south of the Duero River and is representative. The most southwestern population of the species’ range in Europe.
In addition to MNCN, the Wolf Conservation Status Observatory and the CSIC Scientific Computing Service collaborated on the investigation.
Reference report: http://www.italian-journal-of-mammalogy.it/Field-work-effort-to-evaluate-biological-parameters-of-interest-for-decision-making,146619,0,2.html