Table 4. Summary of vertebrates surveyed in the BDNP

The survey included 204 species of vertebrate, but the various groups were studied at different depths. For mammals, ungulates and carnivores, birds and bony fish, all species present have probably been identified, but this is not the case for insectivores, rodents and bats for which further study is required.

The Park can boast the presence of a number of particularly important animal species such as, among the fish, the bleak (Alburnus alburnus alborella), marble trout (Salmo (trutta) marmoratus) and European bullhead (Cottus gobio), the last two listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive.
Amphibians are represented by the most typical mountain species including the great crested newt (Triturus carnifex) and yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive. The 13 species of reptile include the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara), Horvath’s rock lizard (Iberolacerta horvathi) the common adder (Vipera berus) and also the horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), listed in Annex IV of the Habitat Directive.
The 140 species of birds surveyed include the occasional presence of both the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) and griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), both listed in Annex I of Directive 79/409/EEC, the Birds Directive, while a number of species such as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), corn crake (Crex crex) (listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and considered as “vulnerable” by the IUCN) and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) are present in the Park with significant populations.

Conservation and management proposals
The proposed measures can be divided into four types:

• Environmental improvement (EI): includes all activities involving the habitat, such as grass cutting or thinning in areas identified by experts as fundamental for the species involved.
• Basic surveys (S): regular surveys to monitor populations (censuses, health monitoring, etc).
• Active species management (M): reintroduction, eradication, etc. 
• Research (R): research in the literal sense and other activities aimed at improving knowledge of Park wildlife.

A priority was attributed to each activity (maximum, high, medium) to enable the Park to plan allocation of the available financial resources. The problem of defining an “Emergency Indicator” considering both ecological and social factors to assign to the various species is not new in wildlife planning. The group’s work to this end is summed up in Table 5.