With the aim of sharing measures to contribute to its recovery and make visible the importance of its conservation, we celebrate the year of the limpet with various activities in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, in Rodalquilar (Almería).
The ferruginous limpet (Pattella ferruginea), a mollusk endemic to the Mediterranean, is in danger of extinction. It has practically disappeared from the European coasts and in Spain it is only found in isolated points of Andalusia, Murcia, Ceuta and Melilla. With the aim of sharing measures to contribute to its recovery and make visible the importance of its conservation, we celebrate the year of the limpet with various activities in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, in Rodalquilar (Almería).
Technicians from the autonomous communities involved and the Ministry for Ecological Transition have laid the foundations for updating the conservation strategy for the species, drawn up in 2011. The experts have addressed in a meeting of the working group the current situation of the species and various aspects to promote and promote the necessary actions to stop its decline.
The ferruginous limpet suffers from a variety of threats to its survival, including illegal shellfishing, habitat destruction and marine pollution. The effect of climate change on this species is unknown, but experts point out that the progressive increase in temperature and sea level could also be an additional threat factor.
Improving knowledge
On the other hand, specialists agree on the need to improve scientific knowledge of the species and tobring to society the importance of its conservation to prevent this endangered species from continuing to be collected and continue to increase the degradation of its habitat.
For this reason, the species has been declared Mollusc of the Year 2018 by the Spanish Society of Malacology. In this framework, the conference on the conservation of the ferruginous macaw will be held between today and tomorrow, which is co-organized by the Spanish Society of Malacology, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of the Junta de Andalucía and the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
During this meeting, researchers and managers are sharing information about the latest scientific knowledge on threatened macaws, among other species of molluscs. The conference will end with a field trip in the area of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, where the ecological and landscape values of the first protected maritime-terrestrial space in Andalusia, declared a Biosphere Reserve and World Geopark, will be presented.
This initiative is part of the actions planned in the LIFE IP INTEMARES, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the same ministry, the IEO, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.
This project aims to achieve a network of marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, managed effectively, with the active participation of the sectors involved and research as basic tools for decision-making.
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