Last spring, in 2024, they came to take samples from the pellets of the owls that live in the old electrical transformer on the farm, the one that began converting water power into electricity for the population of Sancti-Spíritus in 1943. These analyses are part of a study on native and exotic species of terrestrial fauna and seabirds.
Among the different samples taken as part of the project are analyses of owl pellets. This is a minimally invasive and highly effective tool that provides us with valuable information about the presence of small mammals in each sampling area.
At MolinoLab, we collected the pellets in the spring of this year and sent them to SECEM headquarters in Seville, where they were analyzed. The skulls identified were those of the common shrew (Crocidura russula), one of the most common shrews, which occupies almost any type of habitat and feeds on invertebrates; the Lusitanian vole (Microtus lusitanicus), a small vole typical of the northwestern quadrant of the peninsula, with subterranean habits and exclusively herbivorous; the common vole (Microtus arvalis), a medium-sized vole found in the northern half of the peninsula, with a preference for open areas with dense vegetation, where it feeds specifically on plants; the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) can be found throughout the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, adapts to almost any habitat, and feeds on whatever resources are available at any given time; Mediterranean vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus), a small vole found throughout the peninsula, except in the north, from the Cantabrian Mountains onwards, preferring open areas where it feeds exclusively on vegetation; Moorish mouse (Mus spretus), with a distribution area similar to that of the Mediterranean vole, in very varied habitats, whose diet depends on the availability of resources; and the Cabrera vole (Microtus cabrerae) is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, with a very fragmented distribution. It is listed as "vulnerable" in the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species, which is why the population of this species in the Campo de Yeltes is very important. Some bird skulls have also been found, but the species have not yet been identified.
More information about the project
The MOMAT project is part of a larger project entitled "Terrestrial fauna and seabirds (native and invasive exotic species), improving knowledge of conservation status." commissioned by MITECO, coordinated by SECEM, and managed by TRAGSATEC. Its objective is to design a mammal monitoring plan that is being used to collect information on certain species, mainly those that are not emblematic or hunted. It also aims to help complete the reports on the species listed in both the annexes to the Habitats Directive and the EU regulation on invasive alien species, and, finally, to update the Atlas and Red Book of Terrestrial Mammals of Spain.
