Red Lists are essential tools for the active and efficient management of species and habitats. In the last revision of the Red Book of Vertebrates of Continental Portugal (2005), 28 % of the around 90 Portuguese species of marine and terrestrial mammals had insufficient information. Recognising this as a serious weakness, the project ‘Review of the red data book of mammals in continental Portugal and contribution to the evaluation of their status of conservation’ aims to fill up the information gaps regarding the conservation status of mammals in Continental Portugal.
The project, supported by the Institute for Nature Conservation (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas) and financed by national funds, involves researchers and academics from five Universities that jointly will update information on the distribution, taxonomy, abundance, population status and threat status of native marine and terrestrial mammals occurring in the national territory.
The main output will be a revised Red Book of Portuguese Mammals that will also include detailed descriptions of species recently recorded for the country. For more information go to https://livrovermelhodosmamiferos.pt/
Maria da Luz Mathias (coordinator of the project, mlmathias@fc.ul.pt)