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Discover the mammals of Europe is a campaign aiming at supporting people and organisations working on mammal conservation and research in Europe.EMMA2 - Meeting in Prague
Photo: G Amori
47 members of the Delivery Group, from 30 European countries, gathered in Prague on the weekend of 20-22 April for the first full meeting of the project group. Delegates listened to a variety of presentations, including case studies of atlas work across Europe, data sharing, setting standards for data collection and management, progress reports from each country and information about the data requirements for the atlas.
An impressive amount of work is already under way and there was great enthusiasm for this ambitious project, which has already led to the setting up of several national atlas projects.
Mammifères Sauvages du Maroc
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.
EMMA2 - 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.
Atlas of Mammals in Ireland
A 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
EMMA II - Updating the European Atlas
The 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..