Crispus NGO Sibiu a participat la Primul Simpozion International dedicat Sacalului auriu

13th to 16th of October 2014, Veliko Gradiste, NE Serbia.
First International Jackal Symposium

by Ovidiu C Banea

 A wonderful nature place, silent and relaxing just near the Danube River.

More than 47 researchers from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Ukraine, Poland, Norway have participated to the First Jackal Symposium. See program here and the official website of the Symposium here.

Ecology Department of Crispus NGO Sibiu Romania had participation in 6 oral papers.

1) With colleagues in Slovenia & Croatia: Miha Krofel, Jasna Mladenovic*, Tomaz Berce, Mateja Derzic, Ivana Selanec, Ovidiu C Banea: Population densities and habitat use of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in selected areas of Croatia

2) From Bulgaria: Ilya Acosta-Pankov*, Ovidiu C. Banea, Nikolai Spassov: Preliminary results of the population density of golden jackals (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758) in various habitats in Eastern Bulgaria

3) From Poland: Robert Rutkowski, Peep Männil, Dusko Cirovic, Eduard Yavruyan, Vahram Hayrapetyan, Anatoliy M. Volokh, Joszef Lanszki, Miklos Heltai, Laszlo Szabo, Miha Krofel, Ovidiu C. Banea, Ewa Suchecka, Wieslaw Bogdanowicz*: Genetic Structure and Expansion of Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in Europe and the Caucasus

4) Our new data on population density and harvest in Romania: Cristian-Remus Papp, Ovidiu C Banea* & Roxana Tudosa: New data on distribution range, population density and management aspects of the golden jackal in Romania (updated to 2013).

5) Collaboration with Italy: Luca Lapini & Ovidiu C Banea*: Life-history traits, anthropogenic expansion and conservation status of the GJ in Europe

6) Ovidiu C Banea*, Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, Miha Krofel, Vasyl I. Pridatko, Dusko Cirovic, Peep Männil, Grygory Kolomitsev: Long-distance dispersal of the golden jackal across biogeographical European regions. Theoretical model of jackal natural colonization on Boreal biogeographical region in Estonia and Latvia mainly based on high adaptability of the golden jackal species with large litters up to 8 cubs, with weaning from 75th day of birth and reproductive age of 1 year old (Ivory A, 1999) possible traits form both r and K strategies, large exercise endurance up to 50-60 km per day (Heltai, 2014)

Aleksandra Penezic & Dusko Cirovic Seasonal aspects of the golden jackal diet in Serbia

UK, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria

Dr Patricia D Moehlman, Tanzania

Igor Trbojevic, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Different distribution maps of golden jackals (dots) and wolves (squares) in B&H

Sinisa Ozimec

Ivica Boskovic et al, (Distribution maps in Croatia)

The actual global range map is getting better

Fieldwork

Visit to Ram Fortress

The place first finds its reference in Trajan Emperor times as a settlement where the cavalry units were stationed before crossing Danube into the Thracian (Dacians) territory, actual Romania. The earliest record of Ram Fortress dates back to 1128 CE, as the year when where the Byzantines army defeated the Hungarians. After victories in this region, Byzantine army have focused their activities on the Pannonian Basin. In order to protect the right bank of the Danube Ottoman sultan Bayezid II (1480-1512) was revised and strengthened the existing fortress for fighting firearms. Ram Fortress represents one of the oldest artillery fort in Serbia.

The Ram fortress lies at the 21st kilometer upstream from the Veliko Gradiste, on the hill right above the Danube River. 

Ram fortress was built on the ruins of ancient and Byzantine foundations by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid the Second. Still visible openings for cannons on the towers shows that Ram was an artillery fort located on the Danube River. It has a strong guard tower and four smaller towers that has strengthen the walls. There are several legends about the name of the fort that are related to the founders of Rome, brothers Romulus and Remus, or fort "Ihram".

Right next to the fort there are the remains of an old Ottoman Caravanserai * 6 centuries old. It is the only preserved Caravanserai in Serbia and we can say that this is the first tourist complex built on the most important way from the Balkan to the north towards Budim and Vienna. Not far from the fort there are remains of a Roman military camp Lederata.

On the background the water covers now up to 2 km between the two banks of the Danube River after construction in the 70s of the hydroelectric power stations on the Iron Gates I and II.

Food resources: "We agree..."

Lucian, with an omnivorous foraging behavior

Ecological guide of terrestrial carnivore (Lanszki et al)

After Ecosemiotica II in Sozopol, Bulgaria

With Lucian Parfon, Ecology Department of Crispus NGO Sibiu, Black Sea Coast in Tsarevo after work with Phd Candidate, Ilya Acosta-Pankov in Strandja Mountains SE Bulgaria (two weeks ago)

I certainly have to thank Dr Dumitru Murariu for his continuous large discussions and help regarding golden jackal ecology and dispersal in Romania since the beginning of my surveys on jackal specific ecological systems in the Danube Delta. Here, after Ecosemiotica II, Grigore Antipa Museum, 23rd of Sept 2014.

Many many thanks to Aleksandra Penezic and Dusko Cirovic, University of Belgrade (Faculty of Biology) for making possible the First International Jackal Symposium. I am sorry that I couldn´t stay to see all conferences, but I am sure that our collaboration with all more than 47 researchers around the globe just started.

I hope it will be find a way to update all presentations on the official website for the people who couldn´t assist to the entire lectures program. Or on the common website www.goldenjackal.eu 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SYMPOSIUM 

Ecosemiotica 2014

21-24th of June 2014, Bulgaria

GOJAGE blog: JACKALS IN LATVIA

GOJAGE blog: JACKALS IN LATVIA: by Ovidiu C Banea On 26th of December 2013 jackal female was removed by hunter near Jelgava close to Lielupe River in central Latvia. (Th...

FAGUL 2014, with WWF on Trei Apostoli Peak, Baia Mare. Wildlife Survey in Vurpar, Sibiu

by Ovidiu C Banea, 

Environmental Ecologist

Ecology Department of Crispus NGO Sibiu Romania participated to WWF International Conference on connectivity and green corridors in Baia Mare. 

On both sides of Tisa River, Ukrainians and Romanians established brown bear core areas of species habitat and green corridors were proposed to be protected with the aim of securing the species conservation in Maramures region as an important part of Carpathians Mountains.

People involved in the "Open borders for bears in the Carpathians of Romania and Ukraine" wich covered Maramures in Romania, and Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpatska in Ukraine, were invited to expose their experience and results. Specialists from Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy and Spain participated and shared their experience in habitat connectivity problems.

Habitat fragmentation, reconstruction of migration corridors and securing sustainable use of natural resources were the main problems to be assessed during 2 year project period.

Dr. Bohdan Prots, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, Ukraine and State Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine showed the Maramuresh Ecological Network for Brown bear during the closing session on 25th of April 2014.

It is clear how narrow are the corridors proposed in Romanian territories (bottom half of the picture) and how large and healthy seems to be on the right side of the Tisa river, in Ukraine (upper half). The anthropogenic pressure and the new development of rural areas in Romania with increasing tourism and forest fragmentation or deforestation could be the responsible factors of critical situation observed in Romania.

During "Connectivity and ENA in jackal specific ecological systems. Approximation to cultural semiotics of jackal species in overlapped territories with brown bear in Romania" we explained the importance of separated concepts of structural connectivity (relation between forested patches and their connections) and functional connectivity which permit us to draw networks for different species according to their habitat requirements (alfa, gamma indexes, matrix permeability). The missing corridor on the western part of this brown bear ecological network (habitat use) was explained by Mr Roman Kiss (Ukraine).

Mihai Pop, Ramon Jurj, Vasile Timur Chis, Cristian Remus Papp sharing their experience in LC studies

Participants were guided to the Cavnic corridor between Lapus-Tibles and Ignis core areas. The brief trip organized on bear specific habitat showed to participants the main problems which can lead to habitat fragmentation and critical coridors in the areas: deforestation, antropogenic pressure. Poaching is also a big problem in the area, the first brown bear specimen collared by the project team being captured by poachers two years ago.

Small mammals and mesocarnivores are active in this semiforested habitat.

Nine participants went further to "Cei Trei Apostoli" Peak (Vf. Gutaiul Mic1392) guided by Eng Vasile Timur CHIŞ.

Magor Csibi, Director Program of WWF Romania, pointed on the beginning of the conference, that "even if we know how important for nature and for people is environment protection we do not do nothing if we cannot share this to the human factors responsible of nature protection, to translate this importance to public and every actor directly involved in environment conservation".

As every specialist who talked on brown bear ecological network, based on basic principles of connectivity (patches, matrix - non habitat, protected areas) we added the importance of network mechanism as baseline to understand connections: we can not talk on connectivity without understand what do we need to connect (PDF). Beside this, on our presentation, we focused on Ecological Network Analysis which comprises an hollistic approach to species including humans (different of ecological network of brown bear realted to habitat). We invited people to make an exercise of socio-economic impact of two species with parapatric boundaries: brown bear and the golden jackal. 1590 Eur/pers costs a photo-tour to see Bears and Jackals in Romania (ppt. presented during Baia Mare WWF conference). 

Semi-Caducifolius Forest was visited in Maramures during Closing Conference of "Open Border for Bears in the Carpathians of Romania and Ukraine" project. 

Anthropogenic pressure on forest specific habitat of Brown bear in northern part of Romania

Corridors bewteen core areas were identified by WWF, Ramon Jurj reporting the main problems he found on the field. It was proposed a new stepping stone area between Maramures Mountains, Rodnei Mountains and Tibles core areas. The corridors are crossing matrix with different permeability. 

The critical size of recognized corridors represents, even if they will be used by wild species, source of pollution and stress with increased consumption of energy for those species. On the right side of Tisa River, Ukrainian team showed large corridors in which the mentioned pressure is not evident. But here, an increased poaching and hunting was reported.

Prof Dr Djuro Huber, University of Zagreb, Department of Biology, Croatia explained on a very useful oral communication the importance of a well assessed connection of wildlife habitat through human infrastructure, especially highways and he gave to audience important clues on how to work with authorities and even how to participate in direct decission or during the proper building of bridges or tunels. He added that at least 300 m large visible bridge by boths slopes is a useful corridor. The problem of missing data on Carpathians in Ukraine, between Slovakia and Romania was also addressed bewteen comprehensive Carpathians connectivity network.

Radu George Vlad explained the importance of High conservation value forests (HCVF), which have a specially high ecological or social value. In other words, HCVF are such forests which are more valuable in terms of biodiversity values, ecological values and importance for local people than in terms of industrial timber.

Ramon JURJ - Research Specialist I.C.A.S. Brasov, Romania and Cristian-Remus PAPP - project coordinator

Dr Bohdan PROTS, project manager in Ukraine

Overlapped Natura 2000 to core areas and green corridors for Brown bears in Maramures

The conference venue was Mara Hotel in Baia Mare, Romania

FAGUL 2014

After WWF Conference on Brown bear functional connectivity in Baia Mare, we went to Vurpar Sibiu Romania, to visit the Brown bear interest zone for Ecology Department of Crispus NGO Sibiu. 

This area of semi-forested hills, between Visa (Tarnava Mare tributary - Mures basin) and Hartibaciu (Cibin tributary - Olt basin) was visited during Carpenul 2012 wildlife survey, on December 2012 just on the time of bear denning behavior.

Brown bear den

Lynx lynx and Vulpes vulpes footprints

Canis lupus and Lepus europaeus

Brown bear marks on the forest edge

Caducifolius Forest

Mesocarnivore den (Vulpes vulpes, Meles meles or Canis aureus)

After continuous surveillance of the active den in this important covered areas between Mures and Olt River basins we will be able to answer to this question. 

On that time the strawberries will be ripe, and bears will turn to their open field habitat...

Spinach, polenta, mushrooms and roast lamb at home

Specific habitat, Vurpar, Sibiu Romania

We wait for the conference participants list to be shared by our colleague Cristian-Remus Papp, WWF openborderforbears project coordinator.

Thank you WWF Romania for the invitation to Baia Mare meeting.