Aproximació a l'estudi dels rapinyaires "(Falconiformes)" dels massissos de Sant Llorenç del Munt-Serra de l'Obac, Montserrat i zones envoltants

This work mainly focuses on the study of the status, nourishment and protection of Raptors in the aforesaid area of Catalonia, with a surface area of 486 km2, in wich a total of 17 species have been detected, 8 of which are surely nesting, 2 have been more or less recently extinguished, and the rest have been observed in their passing or accidentally. The approximate status of the nesting species is (in pairs): Accipiter gentilis (10- 15), Accipiter nisus (10-15), Buteo buteo (8-12), Hieraaetus fasciatus (3-4), Circaetus ga- Llicus (3-4), Falco peregrinus (3-5), Falco subbuteo (2-3) and Falco tinnunculus (10-15); a diversity of 2.77 bits has been observed in a sample of 140 km2. In what concerns their feeding, we may stress the importance of Oryctolagus, consumed by Hieraaetus fasciatus, Buteo buteo, and Accipiter gentilis; due to the fact of having seen their number reduced through myxomatosis, Oryctolagus seem to have been substituted by Lacerta lepida, Rattus sp. and passeriformes. We may point out the presence of Chiroptera (Pipistrellus sp.) in the diet of Falco peregrinus and Crustacea (Nephrops norvegicus) in F. tinnunculus, the last one being a product of garbage disposal areas; in all the rest, the feeding patterns are similar to the ones found in the rest of Iberia. The problems of preservation of Raptors have no doubt reached their critical point, due to the great quantities of them that are captured, to the destruction of their nests and environment, and to the poisoning they are suffering through phytosanitary products

Addicions a l'estudi dels rapinyaires "(Falconiformes)" dels massissos de Sant Llorenç del Munt-Serra de l'Obac, Montserrat i zones envoltants

Estando en prensa un trabajo anterior (REAL, 1981), obtuve nuevos datos que ampliaban el estatus actual y antiguo de las diversas especies reproductoras, así como de alimentación, de cría, etc. Por esta razón me permito recogerlos en este pequeño artículo para que sirva de actualización y de aumento de los conocimientos ya publicados. Básicamente los datos obtenidos se centran en nuevas parejas nidificantes. Asi, por ejemplo, ya son 4 las parejas de H. fasciatus controladas y 2 las desaparecidas en la década de 1970, lo que supone una densidad de 1 pareja por 121 km2, mientras antiguamente era de 81 km2. También se añade nueva información trófica en Accipiter gentilis, destacando Lacerta lepida, que no había sido comprobado, hasta ahora, en la zona. En Buteo buteo se han determinado básicamente restos de micromamíferos, ayes y ciprínidos. También se adjuntan otros datos de alimentación en Accipiter nisus, Falco peregrinus y F. Tinnunculus. Finalmente, se muestran algunas fechas de puestas de huevos, número de huevos y éxito de cria, así como unos anàlisis de plaguicidas organoclorados (tabla I) en un huevo de A. Gentilis y en cáscaras de Buteo buteo

Dades sobre la biologia de l'àliga cuabarrada ("Hieraaetus fasciatus" [Vieill.]) a la Serralada Pre-Litoral Catalana

This paper is based on the study of biology and ethology of the Bonelli's Eagle, namely of a couple from the Catalan Prelittoral range, with additional remarks on several other couples belonging to the same range. Bearing in mind that this species has already been studied by other authors, the aims of this study are, on the one hand, to gather data on aspects not studied so far, and on the other, to compare the obtained results with those of other authors from France, Castile, Navarra, Andalusia, while making available some of the first data on this species in Catalonia, where the eagle reaches one of the greatest densities in all Europe. The study is divided into two parts, of different length: out of breeding period and during the breeding period. The most important part is the breeding period, which begins when the eagles start preparing their nests, ending when the young ones become definitively independent. Therefore, we shall begin with prenuptial behaviour as restoring of nests and copulation until the laying of two eggs. The first egg was laid between the 26th II and 1st III, and the incubation lasted from 37 to 41 days for the first egg and 37 to 40 for the second. During the incubation period, done almost entirely by the female, green branches are brought in by the male and sometimes also by the female; we have also described behaviours already referred to by other authors, such as the turning of eggs, accommodation movement during the incubation and nest keeping. The first chick hatched between the 7th and 8th IV, while the second did it between the 9th and the 10th IV. During the breeding, behaviours such as covering, waste disposal, etc. were observed. In what feeding is concerned, we may emphasize that a 22 % of Oryctolagus cuniculus has been observed, a low percentage if compared to what has been observed by other authors, while Sciurus vulgaris, Columba palumbus and Lacerta lepida make up the 60 % of its diet. We also comment upon some observations of hunting, vocal activity and specific behaviour of the chicks, from allopreening to flight exercises, ending with their leaving the nest on 10th-11th VI (least feathered young, male) and 13th-14th VI (most feathered young, female); until the 30th VIII they were regularly observed in the breeding area

Daniel Simberloff: creative and devastating

I would like to start by expressing the immense satisfaction I felt at the presence of Daniel Simberloff at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona on the occasion of the award of the Premi Margalef d'Ecologia 2012 (2012 Margalef Ecology Award). It was a privilege to introduce him to all those present, especially to our students, who were there in the expectation of something truly special

Presència d'elements estepàrics a les aigües dolces de Menorca:

Abstract not availabl

A comprehensive but practical methodology for selecting biological indicators for long-term monitoring.

The selection of the many biological indicators described in scientific literature is rarely based on systematic or clear-cut processes, and often takes into account only a single or very few taxa, or even disregards the complex interactions that exist between the components of biodiversity. In certain cases, the particular context of a site-for example in the Mediterranean Basin-makes it difficult to apply the choice of indicators to other regions proposed in the literature. Therefore, the selection of appropriate methodologies for generating relevant indicators for a particular site is of crucial importance. Here, we present a simple quantitative methodology capable of incorporating multidisciplinary information for assessing and selecting appropriate methods and indicators for monitoring local biodiversity. The methodology combines several ecological levels (species, habitats, processes, and ecosystem disturbances), and embraces biological interactions and common functional guilds (detritivores, producers, herbivores, and carnivores). We followed an iterative selection procedure consisting of five phases: 1) collection focal area useful information; 2) classification of this information into interrelated datasets; 3) assessment and selection of the relevant components using a quantitative relevance index; 4) the adding of taxonomic, physiognomic and functional similarities to the relevant components; and 5) the quantitative selection of the priority indicators in the study area. To demonstrate the potential of this methodology, we took as a case study the biodiversity components and their ecological interactions present in a protected area. We show that our methodology can help select appropriate local and long-term indicators, reduce the number of components required for thorough biodiversity monitoring, and underline the importance of ecological processes

Guidelines for the conservation of Bonelli’s eagle populations

This book provides a comprehensive suite of protocols and methods summarized in the form of guidelines to solve Bonelli’s eagle conservation problems applicable at different spatial scales, from territories to populations. The Bonelli's eagle is an endangered raptor of Mediterranean environments in Europe playing a key role as top predator in these natural systems. Chapters are grouped into two general sections that relate to two different stages required to implement conservation actions: (1) Identifying conservation targets, that is, evaluating the problem, and (2) Implementing conservation actions, that is, solving the problem. A decision tree for conservation of Bonelli’s eagle populations is provided and described in the first introductory chapter. By answering the set of questions in order, the reader will end up to one of the chapters of this document. Five ‘methodological’ chapters are included in the first section, (1) Population monitoring, (2) Determining territorial home-ranges and dispersal areas, (3) Population viability analyses, (4) Determining prey consumption and (5) Estimating mortality causes. And three chapters are included in the second section, (1) Legal tools for conservation, (2) Improving food supply and (3) Mitigation of mortality causes, where conservation actions are described to solve particular conservation problems identified in the first section. Overall, these guidelines provide an example of applied research and achievable conservation practice easily exportable to other populations of Bonelli's eagle as well as other endangered raptors

A Tribute to Justice: Honoring Forty Years of Struggle to Advance Judicial Process for Crimes Against Humanity in Chile

These remarks were delivered as part of A Tribute to Justice, an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the military coup d’etat in Chile, presented by the Charles Horman Truth Foundation at the Third Church of Christ Scientist in New York City on September 9, 2013. Other speakers and honorees included Peter Weiss, Judge Juan Guzman Tapia, Jennifer Harbury, Reed Brody, Peter Kornbluh, and Prof. Cynthia Soohoo. The program was co-sponsored by CUNY School of Law, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Institute for Policy Studies, and the North American Congress on Latin America, with support from the Ford Foundation. Videos of the entire Tribute to Justice program can be accessed at http://www.hormantruth.org/ht/2013videos

Long‑term response of open‑habitats species to wildfre salvage logging: the endangered European wild rabbit as example.

Salvage logging treatments, a type of logging to economic returns after natural disturbance, are often applied in the aftermath of wildfires. Specialist or dependent species of open-habitat usually increase their populations in the short-term after wild- fires and post-fire salvage logging. However, the long-term effects on threatened open-habitat species such as the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) are still poorly known. Thus, plant productivity, habitat heterogeneity and rabbit abundance were studied in the north-east Iberian Peninsula in four type of post-fire treatment plots: (1) unburnt, (2) salvage logging with branches left on the ground, (3) salvage logging and manual removal of branches, and (4) recurrent fires. Both the time since the fire and the treatment affected plant productivity and habitat heterogeneity. Plant productivity was quicker in treatments when branches were left on the ground or when branches were removed than in recurrent fire plots. Rabbit relative abundance increased in the short term but dramatically declined over time after fires, especially in the plots where branches were left on the ground and with recurrent fires, in which rabbit abundances fell dramatically. In the long-term, the lack of food availability and adequate habitat structure are the main factors affecting the maintenance of the rabbit popula- tion. An appropriate moment for managing burnt areas to favour the persistence of rabbit is between the fifth and sixth year after the fire. These actions also benefit the reduction of environmental biomass and so help prevent future severe wildfires