News - Latvijas Sarkanā grāmata

With the onset of spring and warmer weather, in the evenings one of the most common bat species in Latvia - brown long-eared bat could be observed.

The brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus is a small (up to 5 cm long) flying mammal with gray-brown hair. It can be safely distinguished from other bats by its large and long ears. In flight, long ears are used for echolocation, but when not flying, the ears bend. Brown long-eared bats are wintering in various cellars, including caves. During hibernation, the bat hides its large ears under its wings.

In summer, brown long-eared bats' females form colonies in safe hiding places - attics, wall crevices, cavities, bird cages and elsewhere. Males also stay in similar places during the day. In Latvia, brown long-eared bats are widespread throughout the territory and are very common.

Brown long-eared bats feed at night, catching various invertebrates from leaves and branches - insects and their larvae, spiders.

Brown long-eared bats, like other bats found in Latvia and Europe, are especially protected. Bats are threatened by a variety of factors, such as the loss of habitats and food , changes in the landscape, such as intensification of agricultural lands, deforestation and winter disturbance.

The LIFE FOR SPECIES project is developing the criteria for inclusion and exclusion of species from the list of protected species, as well as the division of categories of protected species - according to the necessary protection measures and the damage caused in case of destruction of individuals. Based on the developed criteria, proposals for changes in legislation will be prepared.

The project species experts have compiled the first version of the criteria for inclusion of species in the list of specially protected species and the division into categories of protected species. It was presented to the general public at an online seminar on December 3, 2021.

The material is available HERE (in latvian).

The document explains the overview of the project activities and planned deliverables, as well as an insight into the criteria developed in the project for the selection and inclusion of taxa in the list of protected species and categories of specially protected species, based on several examples.

Everyone is invited to submit comments or suggestions on the current version of the criteria by 30 April 2022 by completing this QUESTIONNAIRE.

One of the goals of the LIFE FOR SPECIES project is to update the list of protected and endangered species based on scientifically based criteria, as well as to prepare proposals for changes in legislation. The current laws and regulations governing the protection of species have not been updated for more than 10 years. During this time, new scientific information on the occurrence of species and threatening factors has accumulated, as well as changes in the Latvian economy.

The Project “Threatened species in Latvia: improved knowledge, capacity, data and awareness” LIFE19 GIE/LV/000857 LIFE FOR SPECIES is implemented with the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union and Latvian State Regional Development Agency. This publication reflects only authors’ view. Neither CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency) nor European Commission are responsible of any use that may be made, or the information contained therein.

In March and April, a series of online lectures "Protected and Endangered Species in Latvia" will take place on the project's Facebook page. Lectures will be led by project species experts.

In order to encourage the general public to go to nature, see and get to know Latvia's rare, protected and endangered species, online lectures "Protected and Endangered Species in Latvia" will be organized on the LIFE FOR SPECIES Facebook page, led by project experts. Lectures will take place on weekday evenings and weekends so that as many audiences as possible have the opportunity to listen to the lectures. Lectures are planned for 1 hour, and after then it will be possible to ask questions to an expert.

In this series of lectures we will introduce six groups of species:

March 19 at 11:00 - INSECTS
The lecture will be led by entomologist Kristaps Vilks. Let's get to know the insects of the Latvian Red Book that live in the forest - where to look for them and how to see them?

March 23 at 17:30 - FUNGI
The lecture will be led by Diāna Meiere and Inita Dāniele, Latvia's best-known fungi specialists and project mushroom experts.

March 29 at 17:30 - AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
The lecture will be led by amphibian and reptile specialist, project expert Andris Čeirāns.

April 5 at 17:30 - BIRDS
The lecture will be led by Viesturs Ķerus, an ornithologist, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Ornithological Society, and an expert in the project's bird species group.

April 8 at 17:30 - MOSSES AND LIVERVORTS
The lecture will be led by project moss expert Līga Strazdiņa

April 13 at 5:30 pm - PLANTS
The lecture will be given in cooperation with the Latvian Botanical Society, and will be led by botanists Pēteris Evarts - Bunders and Maija Medne.

Everyone who plans to participate in the project's photo competition "Green Treasures" is especially invited to the lectures, where it is still possible to send photos with the list of protected species and the species included in the Latvian Red Data Book by 31 August. Read more about the photo contest HERE.

See you in lectures!

In the month when the World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year, we will get to know the inhabitants of the water - European Medicinal leech.

The European Medicinal leech is a small segmented parasitic worm that inhabits various freshwater habitats and feeds on the blood of other vertebrates, such as fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. The European Medicinal leech lives in lakes, ponds and other waterbodies but in Latvia it is relatively rare and unevenly distributed, although there are enough suitable habitats. Europe is considered to be the center of the species' woorld distribution but with the help of humans, the leech has spread elsewhere, such as in North America and Africa.

Historically, the European Medicinal leech has been used in medical leech therapy. Even today, live Medicinal leeches are still used in plastic surgery and for other healing purposes. The first information about the use of leeches in medicine is known from Ancient India. In the 19th century leeches were used so widely and frequently that it led to the extinction of the species in several Western European countries. Today, the large population of European Medicinal leech remains only as local and small in micropopulations, and in most European countries this is considered an endangered or threatened species.

European Medicinal leech are threatened by the loss of suitable habitats due to drainage, lack of food sources, and the collection of leeches from natural populations for medical purposes.

Species experts from the LIFE FOR SPECIES project are working on species assessments, which also include field expeditions. The first field work season of the project has culminated in several interesting species finds.

The project's species experts are currently working to prepare species assessments, gathering information from a variety of data sources. There are species for which data is missing, so experts also doing the filed work to collect the missing data or update the information.
During the summer season of 2021, experts from the University of Latvia and Daugavpils University managed to observe several species that have not been seen or even found for the first time in Latvia for a long time!

Dwarf Cornels are still blooming in Latvia

On a hot summer's day, a team of project botanists from Daugavpils University went to search for the only Latvian place for the Swedish dwarf Cornel (Chamaepericlymenum suecicum), a small plant with a distinctive white flower. In Latvia, this species was known only in one place near Melnsila, but since 1991, when it was first found, there was no information about the status of the species. Although information on the location of the species was approximate and only available from herbarium data, the search was successful - botanists managed to find a vital dwarf Cornels’ population in the area of ~ 200 m², where at least 300 plants were found, and half of them were blooming.

Moss finally found after 20 years

In the season of 2021, a moss expert from the University of Latvia discovered for the first time in Latvia a new moss species - Rugel's Anomodon Moss Anomodon rugelii, which was located in a small river that periodically dries out on the border of Ogre and Madona counties. Moss grows on granite stones and tree trunks. It is distinguished from other mosses f genus Anomodon by its brown leaf veins. In Europe, Rugel’s Anomodon Moss is a mountain species, it is known in a few places in our neighboring countries: in the south of Finland and Sweden, in Estonia, in the Leningrad region of Russia, as well as in Poland and Germany.

The "resurrection" of the extinct lichen species

150 years ago, a naturalist Brutan found the only known location for lichen species Sphaerophorus globosus in Slitere. Researchers in Latvia considered this species to be regionally extinct - the nearest are known from the Estonian islands and Scandinavia. The lichen grows on tree trunks, also on soil and rocks. Elsewhere in the world, the spread of Sphaerophorus globosus is linked to mountainous regions. In the autumn of 2021, during a visit to Līgatne, researchers from Daugavpils University found Sphaerophorus globosus on one of the sandstone rocks and counted as many as 45 individuals. So, the lichen - Sphaerophorus globosus is not extinct from Latvia! Lichen requires high humidity, which is ensured by the river next to the outcrop in the deposit. So far, Sphaerophorus globosus has gone unnoticed, apparently because it resembles the very common lichens of genus Cladina. The Sphaerophorus globosus has a leaf with a central lobe, while the branches have rounded, spherical growths.

In the LIFE FOR SPECIES project, fieldwork will continue in the 2022 season. We wish a lot of new and significant discoveries to the team of project species experts!

The White-throated Dipper has been chosen for the protected species in January - a fairly common wintering bird in Latvia near fast and non-freezing rivers, but a very rare nesting bird.

The White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus is up to 20 cm long, round-shaped bird with a short tail and a pointed beak. It could be easily confused with a snow-capped river stone, as the chest is white and the rest of the body is dark brown. According to the name of the bird, the White-throated Dipper has adapted to life near the water - it feeds on small aquatic animals (insect larvae, small fish, crayfish), which are caught diving in the water, walking on the riverbed and digging the ground. Fast, rocky rivers are the typical habitat of the White-throated Dipper.

The White-throated Dipper is found on the Eurasian continent, in mountainous regions along rivers in rocky areas. Birds nesting in Scandinavia come to Latvia in winter, but in suitable climatic conditions White-throated Dippers can also choose to nest in Latvia. The White-throated Dipper nests in hard-to-reach places in crevices in rocks or masonry, under bridges, as well as enjoys nesting in specially placed nestboxes.

The species is included in the list of specially protected species, as the White-throated Dipper is a rare nester in Latvia, and it inhabits parts of rivers that have have not been affected by humans and are rapid. IUCN data show that the global population of water thrushes is declining.

In December, protected species of the month - common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is currently hibernating under the thick snowdrifts.

This year we are gifted with the typical winter - cool weather and thick snowdrifts that cover the land abundantly throughout the country. The animals, which are active in warm weather, now have gone to hibernation. At the top level of the forest soil, our protected species of the month of December - common domouse - is hibernating. It is a very small, profuse rodent, which can reach 8-9 cm in length. The animal has rusty hair, a long tail and sharp claws so that it can climb trees, shrubs and vegetation. The common dormouse is omnivorous - it eats fruit, berries, flowers, buds, as well as various small invertebrates and even bird eggs. The animal inhabits deciduous and mixed forest forests, including shrubs. It is important that the forest cover has lush and diverse vegetation providing food base. The common dormouse lives in tree hollows, often - it also inhabits artificial birdhouses.

The species is rarely and unevenly distributed in Latvia. In the world, common dormouse is found in Europe, including Asia Minor. The species is threatened by a lack of habitats and possible climate change, such as warm winters.

On December 3, the project team presented the progress made so far in compiling the national list of specially protected species, telling more than 80 stakeholders about the criteria developed for the selection and evaluation of species.

One of the objectives of the LIFE FOR SPECIES project is to update the list of protected and endangered species based on scientifically based criteria. Researchers in species groups are working on defining different groups of criteria (affected criteria, non-affected criteria, subjective criteria) to select species for evaluation according to IUCN criteria, as well as for inclusion in the list of specially protected species and endangered species, or in the Latvian Red Data Book.

On December 3, the seminar presented the current progress in the development of criteria to nature conservation professionals and other stakeholders, as well as outlined the approach to categorizing species according to the required conservation measures or in the event of damage to an individual or a breeding site.

Continuing the work on species evaluation and listing, the project plans two more seminars, in which we will invite a wider range of stakeholders to the discussion, as well as discussions are planned for smaller groups of species experts.

On 29 November, the LIFE FOR SPECIES project team met online with the project steering group to look back on the first year of the project and assess its progress and outline further challenges.

Just a year ago, in December 2020, the LIFE FOF SPECIES project started its activities. On the 29th of November, the project team discussed the progress of the project with the members of the project steering group online on the ZOOM platform. The project steering group has delegated representatives from all project partner organizations: University of Latvia, Nature Conservation Agency, Daugavpils University and Latvian Ornithological Society, as well as from various other stakeholders' institutions and organizations.

The project team gave an overview of the project's achievements in the first year, evaluating each of the activities. In 2021, the project developed a management plan and communication strategy, participated in scientific conferences with reports on protected species topics, conducted IUCN training for species experts, launched species assessments according to IUCN criteria, repeatedly covered the project in the press, and started work on several other activities. The financial report of the project was presented to the members of the monitoring group. In the discussion section of the meeting, the possibilities of cooperation in the field of data exchange and other issues related to the project tasks and future plans were discussed.

The next meeting of project steering group is scheduled for 2022.

Although the first snow is already appearing in some places in nature, you can see the diverse world of mosses in the forest all year round. The species of the month honors small but important moss - Heller's Notchwort Liverwort.

Heller's Notchwort Liverwort Anastrophyllum hellerianum is a small, hard-to-notice moss up to 1 mm in size. It is best seen in nature with a magnifying glass. The shoots are green, but at their ends form wine - red gemmae, which helps to distinguish the moss from other similar species. Heller's Notchwort Liverwort is found in natural, undisturbed forests with coniferous deadwood logs. On the log moss can be found closer to the forest ground, where moisture is retained longer. The survival of the species in the forest requires dead wood in various stages of decomposition.

Heller's wedge is found in Europe and North America. In Latvia, the species is rarely observed throughout the territory. The species is threatened by the clear-cutting of natural, undisturbed forests.

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