amsfThe first volume of the new Atlas des mammifères sauvages de France has recently been published by the Natural History Museum in Paris. Coordinated by Audrey Savouré-Soubelet, Stéphane Aulagnier, Patrick Haffner, François Moutou, Olivier Van Canneyt, Jean‑Benoît Charrassin & Vincent Ridoux, the 480 page book covers marine mammals in both themetropolitan and overseas territories of France.

With the second largest exclusive economic zone in the world (in excess of 11 000 000 km2), the metropolitan and overseas territories of France are host to 71 species of marine mammals. This book – the first of a series focusing on the wild mammals of France – marks a considerable progress in knowledge on the distribution of the 16 Carnivora, 53 Cetartiodactyla and 2 Sirenia found in the French waters. It synthesizes over 90 000 observation data collected since 2000 by some thirty agencies.This volume is organized in two complementary main sections. In the first, species monographs provide scientists and naturalists with up-todate information on the distribution, biology, population dynamics, threats and ongoing monitoring and management actions for each species. In the second part, in order to meet the needs of managers and administrative authorities, geographical monographs offer a summarized presentation of nine oceanic regions and the species found in each of them: North-East Atlantic (metropolitan France), North-West Atlantic (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), Tropical Atlantic (French Antilles), Equatorial Atlantic (French Guiana), Tropical Indian Ocean (La Réunion, Mayotte and the Scattered Islands), Subtropical Indian Ocean and the north of the Southern Ocean (Saint-Paul, Amsterdam and the French subantarctic islands), Southern Ocean (Terre Adélie), South Pacific (New Caledonia, Wallis-and-Futuna, French Polynesia) and North Pacific (Clipperton). The book also includes a summary of the different legal tools in place for the protection and conservation of these species.

An order form for the book can be downloaded here.

Wild Mammals of Morocco: Populations, Distribution and Ecology,  edited by S. Aulagnier, F. Cuzin and M. Thévenot, has recently been published by the Société Française pour l'Etude et la Protection des Mammifères. The work includes distribution maps for all species recorded in the second half of the 20th century, as well as data on their taxonomy, vernacular names and ecology. More details about the publication and where to buy it can be found here.

Attendees at the Rome meeting

 Photo: Mustafa Sözen

The first meeting to discuss the 2nd edition of the Atlas of European Mammals (EMMA2) was held in Rome on 25026 November 2016. 33 people from 21 countries attended, though 2 were not present for this photo on Saturday morning.

The agenda, notes and report of the meeting can be downloaded by following the menu EMMA2>Documents.

IrishAtlasCoverA new Mammal Atlas for Ireland has just been published. The Atlas of Mammals in Ireland 2010-2015 is the first publication to map all 72 terrestrial and marine mammals that occur in Ireland. Almost a quarter of a million mammal sightings were used to produce the distribution maps. The full colour maps compare the pre-2010 distribution to 2010-2015 distribution. The 200 page hardback book also contains especially written species accounts by 42 leading authorities on Irish mammals as well as chapters on: legal protection, the origins of Irish mammals, mammal research in Ireland, advances in genetic techniques and more.

The Atlas is now available to purchase online: http://www.nhbs.com/title/213914/atlas-of-mammals-in-ireland-2010-2015?bkfno=234271

AtlasCoverLargeThe Atlas of European Mammals was published in 1999, with most of the data being rather older than this. The Atlas is now out of print and the underlying data, though still available through this website, are getting more and more out of date. Is the time right for a new project to update the Atlas?

Since the beginning of the first atlas project in 1988, mammal mapping across Europe has improved greatly. Many countries have now published their own mammal atlas, or have a project to do so, and some have live on-line databases that can produce a new map on demand. However, the picture is uneven and our Atlas remains the only publication that covers a significant part of Europe in a consistent and objective way, using mammal records supplied by each country. It remains an important source work for anyone studying the distribution of mammals at a large scale.

A new atlas project would, of course, be a cooperative venture, involving input from mammalogists or mammal mappers from each country. For some, this may be relatively straightforward, for others much more challenging. An immediate question is whether it would be possible to extend coverage to the whole of geographic Europe, rather than just western Europe as previously. This almost doubles the area to be mapped and includes large areas where mammalogists are few and far-between.

In order to stimulate debate and help us decide whether such a project is worthwhile, we have prepared a short discussion document setting out some of the challenges and questions to be addressed. We would welcome views on this and also indications of interest from national Mammal Societies, holders of national mammal records or others with an interest in the subject. Please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your comments and questions about collaboration.

Update

A meeting will be held in Rome on 25-26 November 2016 to discuss this proposal. An invitation for the meeting can be found here, the Agenda here and some notes about the topics to be discussed can be found here. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

 

  1. 5th International Berlin Bat Meeting
  2. Atlas der Säugetiere Nordrhein-Westfalens
  3. Behaviour and Management of European Ungulates
  4. Bechstein's bat in Luxembourg