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The city as a habitat for fauna threatened by climate change: the case of amphibians and reptiles. EUPHES

MITECO

  • A network of 25 entities and specialists have collected nearly 14,000 updated data on some 70 species of amphibians and reptiles in 30 cities throughout Spain, making it the most up-to-date herpetofauna census to date in urban environments in Spain

Line of action:

Terrestrial ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2020

Cities as an ecosystem have not been taken into account until recent decades, however, urban ecology has emerged as a priority in political and conservationist agendas. Our study is a pioneer worldwide in studying urban nature at a national level. In addition, we have focused on specific taxa (amphibians and reptiles) that have been little studied, and in clear decline at a global level in the case of amphibians. On the other hand, there are no studies so far on the presence and distribution of amphibians and exotic reptiles in cities, let alone include various urban agglomerations of an entire country. The results obtained can lead to scientific articles of impact, in addition to having a more applied aspect at the level of conservation and management at the municipal, regional and national levels.


  • To identify which species of native amphibians and reptiles are present in urbanized environments in Spain.
  • To detect naturalized amphibians and exotic reptiles in urbanized environments in Spain.
  • To raise awareness of the presence and importance of amphibians and reptiles in cities, and the value of this type of environment for their conservation.

  1. Bibliographic review: scientific articles, reports, websites and technical studies published in the last 15 years.
  2. Selection of zones and nodes of the network.
  3. Preparation and fine-tuning of the sampling protocol.
  4. Coordinated data collection campaign.
  5. Data processing and reporting.

A network of 25 entities and specialists have compiled nearly 14,000 updated data on some 70 species of amphibians and reptiles in 30 cities throughout Spain, thus becoming the most up-to-date herpetofauna census to date in urban environments in Spain.


programa
linea de actuación

The city as a habitat for fauna threatened by climate change: the case of amphibians and reptiles. EUPHES