DUGi

Fauna vertebrada de la zona periurbana de Torre Gironella: caracterització i efectes del projecte de la vora de Girona

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Nowadays society is trying to approach citizens to the wildness that surrounds the cities. A few years ago, in Girona was born the project “la Vora de Girona” that aims to create a green circle around the city. One of those areas is Torre Gironella, provided with a diversity of wild animals. This thesis aims to determinate the composition and distribution of this fauna, specifically, terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) which are good indicators of habitat status, providing information in order to evaluate the effect of the management. The sampling was carried out from the 27th of February until the 4th of May 2017, and consisted of a combination of six methodologies applied to the different areas of study: unmanaged forest (FNG), managed forest (FG), managed meadow (PG), deciduous forest (BC), and shrubland (BR). The live-trapping method allowed the study of the small mammals, while the photographic trapping and the indirect census allowed the detection of the medium and large mammals. To monitor birds and reptiles, the census was carried out through a transect that covered the five studied environments. Finally, three hearing points were established in the Galligants River for the auditive study of the amphibians. The study allowed the detection of 9 mammals, 24 birds, 2 reptiles and 2 amphibians. Unfortunately, there was no clear result of the effect in the management of the project in the fauna. Nevertheless, through the observation of the distribution, the selection made by the species to find the most optimum habitat was demonstrated. The micromammals are found in unmanaged forest (FNG), since this area is provided with kermes oak, which provides shelter and food. In the case of birds, there have been more species associated to forest areas than to open, urban or general areas. Reptiles, however, prefer open spaces with rocks, where it is easier for them to heat themselves up. Finally, as only one single species of amphibian has been found it means that there is a lack of optimal water points for their reproduction. It was also possible to observe how the daily activity of wild mammals coincides with that of cats, which generate strong pressure on the former, both by the predation of their descendants and the competition for space and food with medium and large mammals. One aspect that was also clearly seen was the effect of human activity on wildlife