The Barcelona Breeding Bird Atlas receives the Premi Crítica Serra dʼOr on Research 2018
The Barcelona Breeding Bird Atlas, a work driven by the University of Barcelona, the Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Ornithological Institute (ICO) and the Zoo Barcelona, received the Premi Crítica Serra dʼOr on Research 2018, in the Science section, in a ceremony held on May 2 in Barcelona. More than three hundred observers, who registered the birding nests in Barcelona from 2012 to 2015, have taken part in the awarded work.
The Barcelona Breeding Bird Atlas, a work driven by the University of Barcelona, the Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Ornithological Institute (ICO) and the Zoo Barcelona, received the Premi Crítica Serra dʼOr on Research 2018, in the Science section, in a ceremony held on May 2 in Barcelona. More than three hundred observers, who registered the birding nests in Barcelona from 2012 to 2015, have taken part in the awarded work.
More than 160,000 breeding birds in urban areas
Birds ease the connection between nature and help improving the conditions of urban areas as healthy spaces for the people. In Barcelona, around 160,000 birds from eight-three different species -ten exotic species and seventy-three native ones- are nesting in the urban areas as well as in other parts of the city.
The Barcelona Breeding Bird Atlas resulted from the joint initiative of the experts of the Faculty of Biology of the UB, the Biodiversity Research Institute of the UB (IRBio) and ICO. This work shows the rich biological diversity of the birds and it provides detailed information on each species, as well as illustrations of each and their habitats -by the biologists and drawer Martí Franch- and maps so as to know where they live in the urban areas. In these lines, the Historical Building, the Faculty of Biology and Palau de les Heures of the UB are some of the urban buildings that are framing the illustrations of the awarded book.
Field work for all districts of the city
This book is the result of an ambitious cross-sectional citizen science work that will help the protection of birds that breed in the city, “populations that are specially threatened by cats and dogs, the disappearance of insects due pesticides, and accidental crashes with mirrored glasses”, according to the lecturer Xavier Ferrer, from the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and IRBio.
Apart from the naturalist view, the atlas shows added values in different cross-sectional fields -environmental management, education, science, leisure, etc.- which highlight the richness of the natural heritage and urban biodiversity in Barcelona.
The following centers took part in this work -published in Catalan, Spanish and English- as well: Serra de Collserola Natural Park, the Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia, the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, the Barcelona Public Health Agency and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology. Other collaborating entities are the Barcelona Port Authority, the Rural Agents Body, the Swiss Ornithological Institute, the Czech Society for Ornithology, Aula Ambiental of Sagrada Família and les Corts, Casa ORlandai and Fabrica del Sol, among others.