Funding
Milvus Group
Date
–
Contact
Lukáš Poledník
Target species
European souslik, Steppe polecat, Marbled polecat
Target area
Dobruja (Romania)
Countries
Romania
Project goal
The aim of the project was to create, in cooperation with the Romanian organisation Milvus group, a scientific proposal for Natura 2000 based on field data regarding the occurrence of European souslik (Spermophilus citellus), Steppe Polecat (Mustela eversmani) and Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) in the Romanian Dobruja.
There were three steppe areas of interest; the cultural steppe, the forest steppe and the semi-desert. In the second half of the 20th century, due to the intensification of agriculture, numberes of both steppe and marbled polecat fell. There was little information about their appearance due to their secretive way of life and they were mostly, only seen when found dead due to road traffic collisions.
To obtain the information required to create the scientific proposal, in cooperation with Milvus Group employees, we closely monitored selected areas. These areas were selected because:
- In the past, they were an excellent habitat for these species regardless of little present evidence of the presence of species.
- Targeted monitoring of these areas had not yet taken place
This monitoring helped us find out the current state of the steppe and marbled polecat populations in the selected localities of Romanian Dobruja. We complete the monitoring using tactile tunnels, camera traps, observations and actively searching for residential signs. Based on the evaluation of these results, a proposal for the Natura 2000 site was drawn up with which, the Milvus group will continue to work.
