Long-term monitoring of the relative density in the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) with track counts in Doñana National Park 2007-2022
Citation
Carro F, Román I, Laffite Alaminos R, Paz D, Ceballos O, Chico A, Torrijo-Salesa M, Díaz-Delgado R, Bustamante J, Márquez-Ferrando R (2023). Long-term monitoring of the relative density in the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) with track counts in Doñana National Park 2007-2022. Version 1.3. Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC). Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15470/xavass accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-10.Description
The long-term monitoring of carnivore tracks in Doñana is part of a harmonised protocol for the Long-term Ecological Monitoring Program of Natural Resources and Processes targeting mammals' populations. The general aim of this protocol is to study the temporal evolution of the relative density of the main species of carnivores in the main habitats of the Doñana National Park. Tracks surveys were done annually after the first rains of the hydrological year, i.e. the first autumn rains, usually in October. Due to climate change, in recent years the rainy season has been delayed until the beginning of the year. This protocol has stablished in 2007 and it has done annually until the present (2022), except in 2021 when due to logistical problems no census was made. Censuses are carried out through 12 prefixed transects, with sand substrate, in Doñana National Park. Each transect consists of a 2 km of length and 1.5 m of width that is done by a car at a constant speed between 10 and 15 km/h. Transects are cleaned the day before of the census with a metal beam to facilitate the read of the tracks and to ensure that the foot prints were from the previous day. Each transect is repeated in three consecutive days, and during the transect the sand is cleaned for the next day. In the census an expert in mammals’ tracks identifies all the tracks, i.e. groups of carnivore foot prints, and he/she records them in Cybertracker. That way, tracks' information like coordinates, hour, species identification and observation was recorded; and also the information of each transect was recorded: surveyors, drivers, date, start and end (hour and coordinates). This method enables to calculate Kilometric Abundance Indexes (KAI) for each species and transect. In order to clarify all carnivore datasets, the data was separated by species, this allows concrete analysis by species. In this dataset Eurasian otter´s (Lutra lutra) data is presented.Sampling Description
Study Extent
The study area is located in southwest Spain in the Guadalquivir Basin and covers Doñana Protected Area (542.51 km2). Climate is Mediterranean sub-humid with Atlantic coast influence deriving in wet mild winters and dry warm summers. The rainy season occurs between October and April, with a peak in December–January (average rainfall is about 550 mm). Four main ecosystems are monitored in the area: freshwater marshes, mobile sand dunes, Mediterranean shrublands and woodlands and Doñana shoreline of 30 km. This monitoring protocol is carried out in 12 permanent and prefixed transects along Doñana National Park. Each transect was sampled three (3 consecutive days) times per year, after the first autumn rains.Sampling
The long-term monitoring of carnivore tracks in Doñana started in 2008 by setting 12 permanent transects across the Doñana National Park. The transects have a length of 2 km and 1.5 m of width. Each transect is sampled three times during the sampling campaign in autumn (between October and November) always after the first rains of the hydrological year. Before each census the sand substrate was cleaned with a metal beam to facilitate the read of tracks and to ensure that the foot prints were from the previous day. Carnivores tracks, i.e. groups of carnivore foot prints, were identified and recorded in a Cybertracker sequence, that allows note coordinates information automatically. This census and his method enables esteem relative densities and also the calculation of Kilometric Abundance Indexes (KAI) of each species according to each transect of sampling period.Quality Control
The protocol used has been supervised by ecological researchers and the data have been validated by the members who performed the transects.item-0Method steps
- The annual survey of each transect is composed by three different censuses on consecutive days. Furthermore, the day before of the first census day a metal beam of 1.5 m was passed along the transect of 2 km to eliminate previous old tracks, ensuring that the foot prints were from the previous day. During each census the metal beam was also passed cleaning the sand to the next day. That way, the detected tracks on each census belonged to the previous 24 hours, so each census is different to the ones made in the same period (3 consecutive days). An expert in mammals’ tracks identified all footprints in the transect area (2km x 1.5m), they were noted in Cybertracker that recorded the hour and the coordinates for each one. Data was download as Excel or csv files and then was validated, cleaned and prepared for the analysis. In order to clarify all carnivore datasets, the data was separated by species, this allows concrete analysis by species. In this dataset Eurasian otter´s (Lutra lutra) data is presented.
Taxonomic Coverages
Tracks are identified to the species level.
-
Lutra lutracommon name: Eurasian otter rank: species
Geographic Coverages
The study area is located in southwest Spain in the Guadalquivir Basin and covers Doñana Protected Area (542.51 km2). Climate is Mediterranean sub-humid with Atlantic coast influence deriving in wet mild winters and dry warm summers. The rainy season occurs between October and April, with a peak in December–January (average rainfall is about 550 mm). Doñana Protected Area includes seven ecosystems types (coastal waters, beach, dunes, forest, shrubland, sandy lakes and marshes) and 21 habitat types, 11 of them of high conservation importance – such as the Bulrush and Glasswort marsh, floodplain lakes, sandy lakes, grassland ecotones, Cork-Oak forest, shrubland, coastal Juniper forest and dunes.
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Francisco Carrooriginator
position: Technician Coordinator, researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: pcarro@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1634-9074
Isidro Román
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
Rafael Laffite Alaminos
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
David Paz
originator
position: Technician Coordinator
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
email: davidpaz@ebd.csic.es
Olga Ceballos
originator
position: Biological Technician
Alfredo Chico
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
Mizar Torrijo-Salesa
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: mizar.torrijo@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4881-2836
Ricardo Díaz-Delgado
originator
position: Researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: rdiaz@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0460-4616
Javier Bustamante
originator
position: Researcher and Vicedirector of the ICTS-RBD
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
email: jbustamante@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7515-0677
Rocío Márquez-Ferrando
metadata author
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: rociomarquez@ebd.csic.es
userId: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=gI2-b9gAAAAJ&hl=es
Mizar Torrijo-Salesa
metadata author
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: mizar.torrijo@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4881-2836
Francisco Carro
originator
position: Technician Coordinator, researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: pcarro@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1634-9074
Isidro Román
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
ES
Rafael Laffite Alaminos
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
David Paz
originator
position: Technician Coordinator
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
email: davidpaz@ebd.csic.es
Olga Ceballos
originator
position: Biological Technician
Alfredo Chico
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Carretera de El Rocío - Matalascañas, A-483, km 40
Almonte
21760
Huelva
ES
Mizar Torrijo-Salesa
originator
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: mizar.torrijo@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4881-2836
Ricardo Díaz-Delgado
principal investigator
position: Researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: rdiaz@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0460-4616
Javier Bustamante
principal investigator
position: Researcher and Vicedirector of the ICTS-RBD
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Avda. Américo Vespucio 26 Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
email: jbustamante@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7515-0677
Rocío Márquez-Ferrando
metadata author
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: rociomarquez@ebd.csic.es
userId: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=gI2-b9gAAAAJ&hl=es
Francisco Carro
administrative point of contact
position: Technician Coordinator, researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: pcarro@ebd.csic.es
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1634-9074
Rocío Márquez Ferrando
administrative point of contact
position: Biological Technician
Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
C/ Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja
Sevilla
41092
Sevilla
ES
email: rociomarquez@ebd.csic.es
userId: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=gI2-b9gAAAAJ&hl=es