scholarly journals Bat conservation and ecotourism: the case of two abandoned tunnels in Salamanca, Western Iberia

Barbastella ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Revilla-Martín ◽  
Pedro Alonso-Alonso ◽  
Jorge Sereno-Cadierno ◽  
César Llanos-Guerrero ◽  
Luis Hernández-Tabernero ◽  
...  

Underground roosts play a key role in the conservation of cave-dwelling bats. In regions where natural roosts are scarce, human-made artificial roosts can host important populations of these species. The roosts studied in the present work are two railway tunnels abandoned in 1984 that have become one of the biggest cavedwelling bats roosts in the region. Several thousands of roosting bats were reported during summer in the 1990s, and more recently, in the mid-2010s, large groups of hibernating bats and maternity colonies were found in them (Lizana-Ciudad 2015, Hernández-Tabernero et al. 2016). Now, as a measure for local economic development, a hiking route following the railroad has been habilitated and it could threaten bat colonies if many visitors enter into the tunnels. In this work, we present the data of monthly monitoring carried out during 2018 and we propose conservation measures that would allow the coexistence of the touristic hiking route and the remarkable colonies of cave-dwelling bats that the tunnels host. This monitoring shows that the occupation of the roosts is very dynamic, with different species occupying each of them in different seasons. Overall, the longest tunnel is mainly a winter hibernaculum, while the shorter one is used as a breeding roost which hosts large colonies of bats. The most abundant species in the studied roosts were Miniopterus schreibersii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Myotis myotis, and Myotis blythii. These roosts seem to be part of a large transnational network of underground roosts that are well known on the Portuguese side with very limited knowledge on the Spanish side. We hope by implementing simple measures, these roosts can be preserved whilst still maintaining the hiking route for visitor enjoyment and promoting the economic development of the area.

Author(s):  
Dumitru Murariu ◽  
Victor Gheorghiu

Şura Mare cave (Romania) - the most important known hibernating roost for Pipistrellus pygmaeus Leach, 1825 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) The Sura Mare cave from Romania is one of the largest roost for hibernating colonies of bats with more than 40,000 individuals. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus are prevalent species with more than 34,000 individuals in mixed colonies. Other 6 bat species are less represented (e.g. Rhinolophus ferrumequinum only 500 individuals) but Miniopterus schreibersii's colony counts 3,500 individuals. From the total of 8 identified bat species, 5 are a priority according to the European Union legislation: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Myotis myotis, M. oxygnathus, Barbastella barbastellus and Miniopterus schreibersii.


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Jintong Tang ◽  
Zhi Tang

This research extends bribery research toward entrepreneurial theory and practice by examining how bribery impacts new venture disbanding in China. Existing research suggests that bribery may enhance firms’ competitive advantage; however, building off of resource-based view and taking into consideration the institutional context in China, the current study proposes that firm bribery activity hurts new ventures by increasing the hazard of venture disbanding. Further, guided by resource dependence theory, this study examines how local economic development and organizing activity moderate the relation between bribery and disbanding. In particular, it is proposed that when local economic development is suffering, or when firms are not engaging in appropriate organizing activities, bribery will lead to higher chance of new venture disbanding. Data from Chinese entrepreneurs support these hypotheses.


Author(s):  
Eduardo I Palavicini Corona

The XXI century has reached the end of its first 20 years. Along the years, it has posed complex challenges to economists and economic geographers. For example, the results of elections and consultations in different countries have shown a strong sympathy with political positions that question the benefits of free international flows of goods, services, labour and capital. By the same token, some academics argue that despite international economics theory clearly acknowledges that free trade causes winners and losers, the expected higher gains have not been effectively used to compensate the losers. This article explores the main challenges of international economic integration in sub-national territories in Switzerland and Mexico to better understand the importance of delivering relevant and competent public policies based on territorial specificity.


Author(s):  
Cristian Barra ◽  
Roberto Zotti

AbstractRegulators should ensure the smooth functioning of the system and promote regional development. Making the health of financial institutions is therefore a prerequisite for a sustainable economic development. This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between the financial stability and growth within the area of one country. This implies that institutional, legal, and cultural factors are more adequately controlled for and financial markets are more accurately bounded. Using a rich sample of Italian banks over the 2001–2012 period, this paper addresses whether different measures of financial distress affect economic development of labour market areas in Italy. Results show that the financial stability has a positive effect on local economic development, robust to alternative variables capturing financial vulnerability. The presence of spatial effects is tested showing that better financial conditions of the banking system in neighbouring areas have a detrimental effect on an area’s growth.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document