The Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE) has launched the project called ‘Evaluation of the conservation status of the bigeye bat (Myotis capaccinii) in the Iberian southeast’. The initiative, which will last for two years, has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

The Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE) has launched the project called ‘Evaluation of the conservation status of the bigeye bat (Myotis capaccinii) in the Iberian southeast’. The initiative, which will last for two years, has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

The main objective will be to know the current conservation status of this species considered one of the most endangered mammals in Spain and listed as “in danger of extinction” within the National Catalogue of Threatened Species, a condition it shares with other species such as the brown bear or the Iberian lynx.

To guarantee its survival, the entity acquired last year through its foundation, the Cueva de las Yeseras in Santomera, one of the main breeding refuges of the species.

For all these reasons, this project is launched that will address different actions, including dissemination, communication and social participation activities, the review of the current state of knowledge about the species and the monitoring of known colonies. Also the location of new refuges, the study of the grazing areas, the use of the habitat and the microclimatic conditions of the environments used by the populations of bigeye buzzards, as well as the development of an early warning protocol for the detection of possible effects on the latter.

In line with these actions, the initiative will use the information collected from other species of bats that share with this small mammal spaces such as mines and especially caves, and also hunting habitats, such as wetlands and rivers.

All these actions will be developed in collaboration with the monitoring programmes of three autonomous communities involved, including; Murcia, Andalusia and the Valencian Community.

Within the framework of the project, ANSE will organize in December 2020 the VIII Conference of SECEMU (the Spanish Association for the Conservation and Study of Bats) that will take place in Alhama de Murcia and will include a monographic session on the bigeye buzzard. This event brings together every two years most of the Iberian experts in the study of this group of mammals.

The project also has the support of Ailimpo (Interprofessional Association of Lemon and Grapefruit), the General Directorate of the Natural Environment of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, the municipalities of Santomera and Torre Pacheco and the Santomera Heritage association.