Manual de interpretación ambiental del Majal Blanco : sugerencias didácticas

El manual va dirigido a estudiantes de diferentes niveles educativos y se divide en dos partes: la primera se ocupa de la descripción y síntesis ambiental (situación y límites, clima, vegetación), así como de los valores naturales y régimen de protección del Majal que se localiza en la Sierra de Carrascoy. La segunda parte, se centra en sugerencias didácticas entre las que se incluye: centros de interés e itinerarios naturales. La utilización del manual permite la realización de ejercicios de interpretación a través de los cuales es posible globalizar multitud de aspectos temáticos y sintéticos del medio ambiente. El manual se complementa con tres cuadernillos de actividades para el alumno: el paisaje, el bosque y aprovechamientos humanos.MurciaES

Range Contraction and Population Decline of the European Dupont’s Lark Population

The Dupont’s lark (Chersophilus duponti) is an endangered passerine typical of Mediterranean shrub-steppes, whose European distribution is restricted to Spain. Here, we update the population size and distribution range of the species at a European scale and evaluate (i) the current status; (ii) the change in population size and distribution range of the species from 2004 to 2009 to the current period (2017–2022); and (iii) the effectiveness of the current network of special protection areas (SPAs) for protecting the Dupont’s lark. The European Dupont’s lark population showed a decrease of 29.9%, declining from ca. 3267 to 2289 territorial males from 2004 to 2009 to the current period. Moreover, the species has suffered a contraction in its distribution range of 35.9%, with only 39.3% of the species’ territories located within the current network of SPAs. Our findings agree with the previously described decline of the Dupont’s lark in Europe. The population decline was even larger in peripheral regions, which suggests that the species is suffering a centripetal process of contraction and extinction. These results indicate that if there is no change in present-day declining forces, several peripheral populations will reach extinction in a few decades and the overall population size of the species will continue decreasing. Our study should be considered as a last call for action and used for implementing urgent conservation measures to protect the species and its habitat. Future studies should focus on analyzing and managing the factors driving the species’ extinction and future actions for the conservation of the species should focus on increasing the percentage of the Dupont’s lark territories within protected areas, since the data are alarmingly low for a species that is facing clear risk of extinction