Monitoring of otters (Lutra lutra) and beavers (Castor fiber), the main indicator species of mammals of aquatic and wetland habitats, is carried out within the activities of the NATURAVITA project, in order to obtain data on the status of these wild species and the quality of their habitats. The obtained data will be one of the bases for clearly defining indicators of changes in hydromorphological, biological and ecological characteristics of the area. The implementation of this monitoring will provide one of the bases for the preparation of a study of the revitalization of the floodplain of the Kopački rit Nature Park and define short-term and long-term measures for the management of aquatic ecosystems. External experts from the research institute -Oikon Institute of Applied Ecology were contracted to carry out the monitoring. Public Institution Kopački rit nature Park will provide all logistical support to external experts contracted for this monitoring and participate in all contracted activities.
The tasks of the monitoring are:
- to reconnoiter favorable habitats for otters and beavers in the area of the Kopački rit Nature Park
- determine the limits of their distribution
- determine favorable locations for setting traps
- determine favorable locations for beaver capture by nets
- capture, chemically immobilize and mark captured individuals with a GPS device (5 otters and 5 beavers)
- determine the causes of beaver and otter deaths on collected carcasses (6 individuals)
- process the data and interpret the results in order to determine the number, distribution, number of territories and potential for the spread of the species concerned
These activities will also serve to educate the staff of the Public Institution Kopački rit Nature Park necessary for the continuation of monitoring.
