Assessing the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds using biodiversity: a new tool for practitioners

The assessment of the habitat condition is the first step of conservation actions and several tools are available to assess wetlands. However, only a few tools are adapted to the priority habitat Mediterranean temporary ponds. Thus, our objectives were (i) to identify biological indicators associated with the different conservation status of Mediterranean tem- porary ponds and (ii) to create an efficient evaluation tool for non-experts using indicators of conservation status. A total of 87 ponds were sampled in southwest Portugal to assess the presence of plants, large branchiopods, amphibians, threatened voles and bats. Ponds with favourable conservation status showed higher species richness of plants, large branchiopods and amphibians. We identified eighteen indicators for favourable ponds: 15 plants, one large branchiopod and two amphibian taxa. We propose a new tool to assess the conservation status of Mediterranean tem- porary ponds based on the presence of these indicators. This tool is an alternative to other common, but time- consuming, methods and can be readily used by trained practitioners. The replication and adaptation of this tool to other regions and habitats enables the collection of comparable data and the geographical scaling-up of the assessments.

Assessing the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds using biodiversity: a new tool for practitioners

The assessment of the habitat condition is the first step of conservation actions and several tools are available to assess wetlands. However, only a few tools are adapted to the priority habitat Mediterranean temporary ponds. Thus, our objectives were (i) to identify biological indicators associated with the different conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds and (ii) to create an efficient evaluation tool for non-experts using indicators of conservation status. A total of 87 ponds were sampled in southwest Portugal to assess the presence of plants, large branchiopods, amphibians, threatened voles and bats. Ponds with favourable conservation status showed higher species richness of plants, large branchiopods and amphibians. We identified eighteen indicators for favourable ponds: 15 plants, one large branchiopod and two amphibian taxa. We propose a new tool to assess the conservation status of Mediterranean temporary ponds based on the presence of these indicators. This tool is an alternative to other common, but time consuming, methods and can be readily used by trained practitioners. The replication and adaptation of this tool to other regions and habitats enables the collection of comparable data and the geographical scaling-up of the assessments.

Le patrimoine culturel universitaire: une méthodologie pour la conservation et la valorisation des biens culturels mobiliers. Le cas de l'Instituto Superior José Antonio Echeverría à la CUJAE - La Havane

Une préoccupation importante pour le patrimoine culturel universitaire vient de se développer en Europe depuis les années 1980. Dans ce riche patrimoine sont inclus les biens mobiliers de valeur historique, scientifico-technique, académique, documentaire, artistique, architecturale et urbaine. Le continent européen a développé durant ces dernières années des actions significatives qui comprennent la création d’organisations, de comités à caractère international, ainsi que la rédaction de recommandations et règlements au niveau européen et institutionnel. Plusieurs universités ont pris des initiatives dans le domaine de la conservation et de la valorisation. À Cuba, il existe un grand intérêt pour le patrimoine culturel de la nation. Malgré la situation économique difficile depuis plusieurs années, Cuba a réussi des bons résultats dans la gestion des centres historiques et des biens patrimoniaux de la nation. Cependant, la thématique liée au patrimoine universitaire est encore peu discutée sur le territoire national, malgré depuis 2010, des actions pour étudier ce patrimoine sont mis en oeuvre grâce aux initiatives des universités de la capitale cubaine. Notre étude de cas, l’Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría, appartenant au campus CUJAE1, fondé en 1964, a produit un patrimoine culturel universitaire de valeur scientifique, artistique et documentaire qui le distingue des autres universités. Malheureusement, ils existent plusieurs problèmes qui affectent les biens culturels mobiliers de l’ISPJAE et son campus. À partir de la situation actuelle, nous proposons une méthodologie en faveur de la conservation et la valorisation de ses biens, basée sur l’étude des tendances actuelles dans les universités européennes et cubaines étudiées. Les actions proposées favoriseront aussi les biens immobiliers, en tenant compte qu’ils ont un fort lien avec ceux mobiliers; ABSTRACT: An important concern for the university cultural heritage has just developed in Europe since the 1980s. The real asses of historic, scientific-technical, academic, documentary, artistic, architectural values are included in these rich heritages. The European continent developed during the last years significant actions which include the creation of organizations, committees with international character, as well as the writing of recommendations and regulations at the European and institutional level. Several universities took initiatives in the fields of the preservation and the valuation. In Cuba, there is a big interest for the cultural heritage of the nation. In spite of the difficult economic situation for several years, Cuba made a success of good results in the management of the historic centers and the patrimonial asses of the nation. However, the subject related to the university heritage is again little discussed in the national territory in spite of since 2010, several actions to study this heritage are implemented, thanks to the initiatives of the universities of the Cuban capital. Our case of study, Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría, belonging to the campus CUJAE, established in 1964, produced a university cultural heritage of the scientific, artistic and documentary value, which distinguishes it from other universities. Unfortunately, there are several problems, which affect the real cultural asses of the ISPJAE and its campus. From the current situation, we propose a methodology in favor of the preservation and the valuation of its properties, based on the study of the current trends in the studied European and Cuban universities. The proposed actions will also favor the real property, taking into account that they have a strong link with those movable cultural asses; RIASSUNTO: Una preoccupazione importante per il patrimonio culturale universitario inizia a svilupparsi in Europa dagli anni 1980. In questo ricco patrimonio sono inclusi i beni mobili di valore storico, scientifico-tenico, accademico, documentario, artistico, architettonico e urbano. Il continente europeo ha sviluppato durante questi ultimi anni delle azioni significative che comprendono la creazione di organizazioni, di comitati internazionali, così come la redazione di raccomandazioni e regolamenti a livello europeo e istituzionale. Molte università hanno intrapreso delle iniziative nella conservazione e nella valorizzazione. A Cuba esiste un grande interesse per il patrimonio culturale della nazione. Malgrado la difficile situazione economica da molti anni Cuba ha ottenuto dei buoni risultati nella gestione di centri storici e di beni patrimoniali del Paese. Comunque, la tematica relativa al patrimonio universitario è ancora poco discussa anche se dal 2010 siano messe in opera delle azioni per studiare questo patrimonio, grazie alle iniziative di alcune università della capitale cubana. Il nostro caso di studio, l’Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría –ISPJAE-, appartenente al campus CUJAE fondato nel 1964, ha prodotto un patrimonio culturale universitario di valore scientifico, artistico e documentale che la distinguono delle altre università. Purtroppo, esistono molti problemi che influenzano i beni culturali mobili dell’ISPJAE e del suo campus. A partire della situazione attuale e facendo parte di questa ricerca, si propone una metodologia a favore della conservazione e della valorizzazione dei loro beni fondata sullo studio delle tendenze attuali in università europee e cubane. Alcune delle azioni proposte sono finalizzate e destinate anche ai beni immobili, tenendo conto che questi hanno un forte rapporto con i beni mobili.

Exploited anadromous fish in Portugal: Suggested direction for conservation and management.

Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and allis shad (Alosa alosa) have been fished for centuries in mainland Portugal during their upstream spawning migration. Here, biological information is compared for the two species and governance and monitoring data from Portugal are reviewed to propose species-specific courses of future action. Despite a national fisheries legislation common for the two species and the designation of Sites of Community Interest (SCIs) for both, the current conservation needs for sea lamprey and allis shad in Portugal are considered to be distinct. For sea lamprey, conservation priorities must focus on planning fisheries managementinarticulationwithhabitatrecoverytoguaranteecost-effective monitoring andsustainablelong-termexploitationthataddsvaluetolocalcommunitiesandpaysdue taxation. Onthecontrary,conservationconcernsandactionsforallisshadmuststrengthenandbemore proactive in the reduction of fishing mortality, both target (in rivers) and by catch (at sea).There is a need to make better use of the opportunities inherent in the Habitats Directive and the possibility to define specific management actions within SCIs. To this effect, it will be necessary to revise existing legislation and guarantee better articulation between jurisdictional authorities. A good example in this direction is the articulation already established in the river Mondego where habitat restoration, fish monitoring and effective species-specific fisheries control measures have been taken and implemented in recent years by a large institutional partnership.