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EMF statement on the war in Ukraine
The European Mammal Foundation (EMF) expresses its deepest concern over the invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. This unprovoked war against the citizens of Ukraine, which is still continuing, has resulted in thousands of deaths, enormous destruction and the displacement of millions of refugees. It is a disaster for the whole of Europe.
Our pan-European project work relies on international cooperation between scientists, regardless of the political and economic frameworks within which they work, and we believe our project is an excellent example of international cooperation. Unfortunately, that cooperation has been put under severe threat by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
We offer our full support and sympathy to our colleagues and friends and all the people in Ukraine. While the EMF is a non-political scientific organisation, it can work effectively only when countries observe the principles of the UN Charter, and that is why we have taken the decision to suspend, for the time being, our co-operation with Russia and Belarus.
Although Russia is becoming increasingly isolated, we know that many Russians do not support this war. We should not assume that the Russian government speaks for all Russian scientists. Many, including members of the scientific community, have been brave enough to voice their objections publicly, despite the introduction of draconian laws severely limiting free speech. We hope that people will continue to speak out against this mindless war and that, in time, scientific cooperation can resume.
European Mammal Foundation
April 2022
6th World Lagomorph Conference
The 6th World Lagomorph Conference will take place from 4-8th July 2022 in Montpellier, France.
The World Lagomorph Conference, which takes place every four years, brings together researchers and experts on rabbits, hares, and pikas from all over the world. This quadriennal meeting organised on behalf of the World Lagomorph Society is a great opportunity to share and exchange information on the natural history, ecology, evolution, behaviour, physiology, genetics, morphology, diseases, management and conservation of wild lagomorphs.
The website for the conference can be found here: https://lagomorph2022.sciencesconf.org/ and the conference is already open for the submission of abstracts.
Alpine shrew (Sorex alpinus) is still living in the Pyrenees
This is an interesting and very important story. Until now the occurrence in the Pyrenees of the Alpine Shrew (Sorex alpinus) has been documented only by a few, rather old data (1878-1930) from the Spanish side of the mountains (three specimens). Since then it has been considered extinct (missing). However, this year (2021) I was lucky enough to find the pdf.file of a book about mammals of the NP Ordesa y Monte Perdido (Ferrer E.W., 2019: Mamíferos del Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido - Ediciones Prames S.L., Zaragoza, 267pp.) and, to my surprise, I saw on pages 58 and 244 photos of the Alpine Shrew, presented as an unknown species; this individual was caught in autumn 2012.
Being sufficiently familiar with this shrew species in the Czech Republic I can, without doubt, state that it is the Alpine Shrew. The external features are quite typical – uniform grey-black colouration, overlong tail, very small eyes, light "meat"-coloured feet, the shape of the head and rostrum etc. Also, other experts on this species agree with this view, e.g. R. Kraft (München) and V. Vohralík (Prague). Therefore, it is my belief that the recent occurrence of the Alpine Shrew in the Pyrenees can be proven. Based on this finding, the occurrence of its relict population(s) in the Pyrenees deserves more attention.
Miloš Andĕra, Czech Republic (EMMA 2 national coordinator)
Per Ole Syvertsen
We are saddened to report the untimely death of our coordinator for Norway, Per Ole Syvertsen, at the age of 62. Per Ole will be known to all who attended the Eurobats Advisory Committee meetings and he was also present at the EMMA meeting in Prague, 2018.
Per Ole was the curator of the natural history department of the Helgeland Museum and was based in Mo i Rana.
Citizen Science in Ireland
There is growing interest across Europe in developing the involvement of volunteers to collect biological observations. A common part of this development is the setting up of a data portal, where observers can submit their biological records for verification and adding to a national database. A portal has been developed in Ireland by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and this video give an introduction to the system.