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Sánchez Fernández, David

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Sánchez Fernández, David
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Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología
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    Unauthorized translocations of threatened fauna in freshwater ecosystems: insights from the Iberian southeast
    (Wiley, 2025-07-22) Zamora Marín, José Manuel; Guerrero Gómez, Adrián; Zamora López, Antonio; Torralva, Mar; Oliva Paterna, Francisco José; Sánchez Fernández, David; Zoología y Antropología Física
    Unauthorized translocations of native and threatened wildlife are widely conducted for conservation purposes. This illegal practice remains understudied and is poorly considered by wildlife managers despite its important socioecological implications. By focusing on the southeastern Iberian Peninsula as a case study, we combined data from freshwater biodiversity monitoring programs, published records and local expert knowledge to provide a comprehensive assessment of the magnitude of unauthorized translocations in freshwater ecosystems. A total of 14 cases of covertly translocated populations were recorded, involving 10 freshwater vertebrate species (six fish and four amphibians). All these species are classified as threatened taxa (i.e., critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable) at a global, national or regional level, seven of them being Iberian endemisms. At least nine out of these unauthorized translocations have resulted in self-sustaining populations, but their impact on local biodiversity and recipient ecosystems' functioning remains to be assessed. This case study suggests that unauthorized translocations could be an emerging conservation issue in freshwater ecosystems, highlighting the need for implementing integrative management approaches to halt this illegal practice at source. These management approaches should include a more proactive attitude by environmental authorities towards official conservation translocation programs and increased social awareness of the potential impacts of unauthorized translocations.
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    Low effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network in preventing land-use change in bat hotspots
    (Springer, 2017-04-05) Lisón Gil, Fulgencio; Sánchez Fernández, David; Ecología e Hidrología
    One of the most important issues in biodiversity conservation is an exploration of the relationships among protected areas, land-use changes and biodiversity, so we aimed to assess the performance of the Natura 2000 network (N2000) in representing the bat conservation hotspots in peninsular Spain and the Balearic Islands and to compare the rates of land-use changes within these hotspots with those observed throughout the rest of the study area. First, we applied a Combined Index that integrates various biodiversity metrics (species richness, rarity and vulnerability) to identify hotspots, and once they were identified, we used null models to assess the performance of N2000 in representing them. Finally, also using null models, we tested whether the changes in land use (“anthropization” or “naturalization”) within the hotspots occurred at a significantly higher or lower frequency than in the rest of the study area; for this, we considered two temporal windows (1980–2006 and 2006–2012) corresponding with periods before and after the official designation of the N2000 sites. Our results show that bat hotspots are effectively represented in the Iberian N2000, but although land-use changes were generally higher in Spain before 2006, hotspots have not experienced lower rates of change compared to the remainder of the territory (regardless of the period under consideration). This suggests low effectiveness of the Iberian N2000 in preventing land-use change in bat hotspots, so to preserve the Iberian bat fauna, we encourage the urgent implementation of management plans to avoid intensive changes in land use both inside and around bat hotspots.
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