As prescribed by the EU Habitats Directive, every six years, Member States must report to the European Commission on the conservation status of habitats and species protected under the Directive, present within their natural territory.
Overall, the methodology aims to provide a thorough and standardised assessment of the conservation status of species and habitats protected under the Habitats Directive, to inform conservation efforts and policy decisions across the EU. Data on four different criteria (for species, these are range, population, habitat of the species, and future prospects) is used to determine the overall conservation status.
The overall conservation status can be either of the following:
Favourable: This means that a species or habitat is in a good condition and its population or area is stable or increasing.
Unfavourable-inadequate: This indicates that although efforts are being made, the species or habitat is not doing well enough, and more action is needed to improve its condition.
Unfavourable-bad: This suggests that the species or habitat is in a poor condition, and urgent action is required to halt its decline and restore it to a healthier state.
Unknown: This indicates that insufficient data is available on the criteria used to assess the conservation status and hence, no full assessment is possible.
In the light of the upcoming reporting, throughout 2024, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) intends to conduct monitoring studies across the Maltese Islands. The objective of these studies is to gather data on the specified criteria, to be able to evaluate the conservation status for a number of reptile and mammal species.
Reptiles monitoring
If you are on this page because you have scanned the QR code on a wooden board like the one indicated in the right image, then you have encountered one of the two means through which ERA will be monitoring the below reptile species:
- Ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus)
- Western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus)
- Leopard snake (Zamenis situla)
- Cat snake (Telescopus fallax)
- Algerian whip snake (Hemorrhois algirus)
- Maltese wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis)
- Moorish wall gecko (Tarentola mauritanica)
- Turkish gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
The first monitoring method involves the use of wooden boards, mimicking natural habitat features like rocks or fallen logs, which provide hiding places and basking spots for reptiles. These artificial refugia will be deployed strategically around the Maltese Islands for seven months. During this period, ERA personnel will be systematically checking these artificial refugia to record the presence, abundance, and diversity of reptile species, which will seek refuge beneath them.
In addition to this method, ERA will be also actively carrying out walk-through surveys during different times of the day to record any encounters with such species in a multitude of pre-selected sites around the Maltese Islands. This will ensure that the monitoring is representative for all the species in question, noting that these have different habits; some are active at dusk or dawn, others at night, whilst others during the day.
Both methods being utilised will not harm reptiles or any other encountered fauna as they are both based on a visual census.
Mammals monitoring
If you are here because you have scanned a QR code from what looks like a trap, rather than a wooden board, then you have encountered one of the monitoring techniques, employed to monitor the below two mammal species:
- North African hedgehog (Atelerix algrius)
- Sicilian shrew (Crocidura sicula calypso)
Similar to the reptile monitoring; for mammals, two distinct methodologies will be utilised. However, in this case, one method will be specific to monitor the Sicilian shrew, whilst the other will be for the North African hedgehog.
Live traps, like those shown in the below image, will be utilised for the Sicilian shrew, employing the capture and recapture method. These traps will be strategically deployed across various sites around Gozo, noting that the Sicilian shrew occurs only there. Trap deployment will occur during sunset, whilst collection will be carried out during early morning hours, before sunrise.
With regard to the monitoring of the North African hedgehog, two types of visual surveys will be carried out. The first will be based on the presence of carcasses resulting from road kills; these will be spotted whilst driving ERA vehicles around both Malta and Gozo. The second method will entail night-time walk-through surveys, with the assistance of thermal imaging equipment. This method will be conducted to detect live specimens, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of hedgehog distribution and population.
Once again, the methods that will be utilised are not harmful. As for the recording of hedgehog carcasses from incidental road-kills, although such method might be unpleasant, it will provide valuable data that can offer insights into the species’ distribution.
