GALICIAN WILD PONIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION OF WOLVES AND PRIORITY HABITATS

CASUAL SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

Galicia and northwest Portugal share a unique system in which the wild ponies (or garranos) are the main prey for wolves, but they also play a fundamental role in the conservation of priority habitats such as wet heathlands and bogs, while they are complementary to cattle grazing, opening pastures and decreasing wolf attacks in more valuable livestock species. In this communication I will explain the predation of wolf on wild ponies, in comparison with extensive cattle, and their implications for the conservation of this large carnivore. I will discuss different ways to prevent wolf damage and how certain forms of management to prevent wolf damage could limit the function of wild ponies for habitat conservation. Finally, I will describe the role of the wild ponies in the conservation of the heathlands and bogs and some characteristic of the ponies’ spatial ecology and diet that can explain their influence in these habitats.

Laura Lagos is a researcher at the University of A Coruña (Spain) where she has been working since 2017 in different projects related to habitats conservation, ecosystem services and management of the wild ponies from Galicia. Laura completed her Ph.D. at the University of Santiago de Compostela, focused in wolf predation on wild ponies and cattle. Her research interest includes, among other topics, Galician pony ecology and their human dimension. She is author of several peer-reviewed publications, including two chapters in the latest academic review on wild equidae for Johns Hopkins University Press. She is a member of the IUCN Equids Specialist Group.

[Host: Francisco Álvares, Conservation Genetics and Wildlife Management]

Image credits: Laura Lagos Abarzuza