EDP Baixo Sabor: Construction and Reservoir Filling Phases - Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus) [Sign surveys] [2010-2014]

Study Extent

The data were collected in a grid of 38 5x5 km squares in the lower Sabor river valley, its tributaries, and in rivers Maçãs and Angueira, from the river mouth up to 42 km upstream, in the municipalities of Torre de Moncorvo, Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro and Macedo de Cavaleiros.

Sampling

Sampling was designed to cover the whole valley of the lower Sabor river, its tributaries and rivers Maçãs and Angueira, with particular emphasis on spots of confirmed or potential occurrence of the Iberian Wolf. A total of 44 transects was established in the study area (one per 5x5 km square). Each transect was performed on foot or by car, at a speed of 10 km/h, always using a minimum of 2 observers. Transects were mainly established along dirt roads, both along ridges at higher elevation and areas near the Sabor river. Since road crossings are a favorite place of scat deposition for the Iberian Wolf, they were thoroughly inspected on foot on each occasion, with a minimum length of 50 m on each directions. All scats found were identified in the field, if possible, or taken to the laboratory to further analysis. However, since the scats attributed to the wolf were not validated with molecular tools to screen for possible confusion with those of domestic dogs, their taxonomic identification in this dataset is presented at the genus level.

Quality Control

All individual identifications were performed by qualified technicians

Method steps

1. To be completed

The taxonomic coverage of this dataset spans 1 class, 1 orders, 1 familiy, 1 genus.

1. Chordata
   rank: phylum
2. Mammalia
   rank: class
3. Carnivora
   rank: order
4. Canidae
   rank: family

Data were collected along the lower Sabor river valley and its tributaries, in 38 5x5 km squares, from the river mouth up to 42 km upstream, in the municipalities of Torre de Moncorvo, Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro and Macedo de Cavaleiros.