EDP Foz Tua: Terrestrial Vertebrates Baseline_studies (EIA) [2006]

Study Extent

The study was carried out in nine 5km-sections of the river Tua, which were visited several times between May and September 2006, from the mouth to the village of Cachão, 45 km upstream.

Sampling

Sampling was designed to cover an area of 5 km x 1 km (approximately) in each section of river considered. One to several 1.2 km transects per section were established, mostly along the deactivated river Tua railway, but also in the hillsides of the valley, covering both margins. Each transect was visited once between May and September 2006, but all efforts were made to ensure that each river section received at least one transect. Additional observations made in the same time frame outside the sampling transects were also included. Each 1.2 km-transect was walked at a slow pace, and apart from the spontaneous observations, an effort was made to search all places in the path that had the appropriate habitat conditions (eg., holes, bushes, ponds, streams). The position of each species detected (either directly by observation or indirectly by examining scats and/or footprints) was recorded and georeferenced with a GPS (WGS84 datum). Species identification were usually possible “in locus” in the case of observation events and for footprints, through appropriate field guides. In the case of the scats, whenever an unequivocal identification was not possible in the field, they were taken for laboratory for subsequent anatomic analysis (fur examination). Only the occurrence (ie, presence/absence) of the species in each point and transect was documented, that is, no effort was made to quantify the number of individuals or scats/footprints present for each observation.

Quality Control

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Method steps

1. To be completed

The taxonomic coverage of this dataset spans 1 phylum, 3 classes, 8 orders, 19 families, 26 species and 2 genus.

1. Chordata
   rank: phylum
2. Amphibia
   rank: class
3. Reptilia
   rank: class
4. Mammalia
   rank: class
5. Anura
   rank: order
6. Caudata
   rank: order
7. Squamata
   rank: order
8. Testudines
   rank: order
9. Carnivora
   rank: order
10. Lagomoprha
    rank: order
11. Artiodactyla
    rank: order
12. Rodentia
    rank: order
13. Alytidae
    rank: family
14. Salamandridae
    rank: family
15. Ranidae
    rank: family
16. Bufonidae
    rank: family
17. Lacertidae
    rank: family
18. Blanidae
    rank: family
19. Scincidae
    rank: family
20. Colubridae
    rank: family
21. Lamprophiidae
    rank: family
22. Geoemydidae
    rank: family
23. Natricidae
    rank: family
24. Phyllodactylidae
    rank: family
25. Viverridae
    rank: family
26. Mustelidae
    rank: family
27. Leporidae
    rank: family
28. Sciuridae
    rank: family
29. Suidae
    rank: family
30. Canidae
    rank: family
31. Muridae
    rank: family

The data were collected in the last 45 km of the river Tua (Northeast Portugal), from the village of Cachão to its mouth, within the municipalities of Alijó, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Murça, Vila Flor and Mirandela