National Census of the Iberian Wolf (2002-2003) - Packs

Study Extent

The data was collected in a 29000 Km² area, containg parts of Braga, Viana do Castelo, Porto, Vila Real, Bragança, Aveiro, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco e Portalegre municipalities, from May to October of 2002 and 2003, having been punctually carried out, in both years, transects in search of evidence of the presence of the species outside this period.

Sampling

The sampling unit used in this work was the UTM 10x10 due to the characteristic magnitude of wolf movements. The presence of wolves was detected through four different ways: Paths on foot or by car in search of signs of the species' presence (droppings, tracks, scratches); Sound stations - Wolf howl simulation looking for return howl from the packs Waiting stations - Detection by direct observation Gathering information from local populations

Quality Control

All initial data was inserted in a specific relational database built specifically for the project, which implemented several quality control methods. In the preparation of the dataset for GBIF publication, data consistency was verified using cluster algorithms using OpenRefine.

Method steps

1. For each UTM 10x10 the wolf presence was Confirmed, Probable or Non Detected For the 10x10 UTM areas with confirmed presence, the pack presence was Confirmed or Probable. For the confirmed packs, the breeding status was classified as Confirmed, Probable or Non Detected.
2. The following steps were performed in data layer: - Convertion of the .shp from EPSG:3763 (ETRS89) to EPGS:4326 (WGS84) - Extraction of the wkt geometry from the layer - Centroids calculation the for each polygon - Calculation of the coordinate accuracy through the longest distance from the centroid to the borders of the polygon. - Calculation the centroids coordinate - Cross-reference of the centroids with CAOP2020 layer In the DwC archive: organismName - pack name organismRemarks - Population nucleus where the pack is integrated occurrenceRemarks - information about wolf pack presence. occurrenceStatus - information about wolf pack presence. dynamicProperties - information about breeding status in 2002 and 2003 georeferenceRemarks - area occupied by the pack

The work studies only one species, Canis lupus signatus (Cabrera, 1907).

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Chordata
   rank: phylum
3. Mammalia
   rank: class
4. Carnivora
   rank: order
5. Canidae
   rank: family
6. Canis
   rank: genus
7. Canis lupus
   rank: species
8. Canis lupus signatus
   common name: Iberian Wolf rank: subspecies

Portugal mainland, specifically in the municipalities of Braga, Viana do Castelo, Porto, Vila Real, Bragança, Aveiro, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco and Portalegre.