What is ICTS-RBD in Doñana?

ICTS-RBD is a scientific large-scale facility providing research support and cutting-edge biodiversity monitoring systems at the heart of one of the most important protected areas in Europe: Doñana National and Natural Park

Research Activities

At the Research Coordination Office all scientific activities are stored in database; projects, publications, conferences, PhD dissertations, ..ntained. References range from scientific papers and technical reports to popular books and legislation.

Monitoring at ICTS-RBD

The need to understand the inherent variability of natural systems, led to the creation of a long term monitoring program in Doñana, aimed at creating series of essential data of both physical and biological parameters

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Long-term trend in Mediterranean carnivore populations in Doñana shed light on the long-term evolution of the main Mediterranean species

May 2023

The analysis of carnivore trends in Doñana National Park (DNP), led by members of the ICTS-RBD monitoring team, reveals that the populations of 5 species studied in the park have evolved differently over the last 15 years. Long-term studies on community composition and relative abundance are key tools in wildlife management and for biodiversity conservation. However, there are few such studies focusing on Mediterranean carnivores, especially in the Iberian Peninsula, a hotspot for mammalian biodiversity in Europe. In order to fill this gap, 15 years of carnivore monitoring data from the Doñana National Park were used to obtain population trends to discuss the evolution of carnivore populations.

The characteristics of Doñana, known for its sandy substrates and dunes (Photo: preparing a sandy track for the fingerprint surveys in DNP. Author: Francisco Carro), make it possible to use reliable and inexpensive methods such as fingerprint surveys (Cover photo: a Egyptian mongoose footprint in the sand observed during the surveys in DNP. Author: F. Carro), carried out every year after the first autumn rains.

The results showed that population trends differ among the different species of the Park, with the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) being the only one that has seen its abundance increase in the last 15 years despite the population control exercised on this species in the Park. One of the most outstanding results was the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) which trend was stable considering the interannual changes. This shows, at least for the population of Doñana, that the population of this carnivore does not tend to grow in the long term, which can be a first step to evaluate its future population situation in areas of recent expansion. Other species such as the European badger (Meles meles), also showed stable populations, being Doñana a priori more hostile to this species, which finds higher densities in Eurosiberian zones. The results of the Common genet (Genetta genetta), although inconclusive, show a slight decrease. Finally, the case of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), a species in clear recovery in the Iberian Peninsula, shows us that at the scale of the National Park and using this methodology, the population is in moderate decline, contrary to its global Peninsular situation. Diseases or decreased abundance of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are considered as possible hypotheses to this result.

You can consult the scientific publication of this research work at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-023-01683-1



 

Start a project

If you plan to do research in Doñana, you must bear in mind that your project must be approved by the Research Access Commission of the Doñana Participation Council. The ICTS-RBD provides assistance throughout the procedure. Read more

Request access, accommodation and/or technical and logistic support

Once your research project has been approved by ICTS-RBD, you can request access and accomodation in the Biological Reserve using this online form and/or logistic or technical support using this online form . Do not forget to read carefully the facilities’ use rules. Read more

Request biodiversity data

Raw data requests are made via the following application . In addition, it is possible to visualize ICTS-RBD biodiversity monitoring data at the Data Infrastructure and access essential ecosystem indicators at the Global Change Observatory. 

Bird Ringing Lab

The Bird Ringing Lab is a service of ICTS-RBD that centralizes all scientific ringing activities undertaken in Doñana, and coordinates non-metallic bird banding in Spain. Read More