This year, the campaign, which is celebrating its 14th edition, has received a total of 16 applications 

The Barcelona Zoo Foundation has awarded eight grants to projects related to the conservation, protection, preservation and research into wild animals and biodiversity. This annual campaign, part of the Foundation‘s Research and Conservation Programme (PRIC in Catalan), is celebrating its 14th edition this year. A total of 16 applications were received, eight of which have been selected by a jury of leading professionals from the scientific community. The winning projects will receive a total amount of €71,219. 

In accordance with the campaign‘s general criteria, one of the factors taken into account in the selection of projects is the leadership of young pre- or post-doctorate researchers. The goal is for the Barcelona Zoo Foundation grants to become a means of support for developing their research careers.

Mediterranean habitats and fauna, the main subjects of study for the selected projects

Most of the awarded grants, 6 out of the 8, focus on studying native Mediterranean fauna and ecosystems, including the marine environment. Furthermore, all of the subsidised studies are carried out in the natural environment of the species concerned, i.e., the physical space where they develop and live. 

The main zoological groups that are the subject of these studies are bats (3 projects), birds (2 projects), land mammals and sharks. The most studied habitats are those typical of the Mediterranean in Catalonia, including woodlands, heaths, and pastures in Montseny, as well as wetlands, agricultural, urban, and coastal areas. However, one of the projects focuses on the tableland in Colombia.

The New Model Zoo, committed to research

One of the strategic lines promoted by the new model Barcelona Zoo is reinforcing its commitment to research and dissemination. In this regard, the Zoo Foundation‘s grant programme is one of its lines of action that foster the generation of knowledge and raise awareness about the need for protecting ecosystems. 

The annual grants constitute a significant way for the Barcelona Zoo Foundation to collaborate with researchers and other external organisations to complement their research and conservation programmes and collaborate with third parties who help protect the most endangered species of fauna.

List of subsidised studies:

• Evaluation of the measures for recovering pastures in the Montseny Natural Park, concerning biodiversity, using the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) as an indicator.
• A technological and bio-acoustic approach to monitoring colonies of woodland bats.
• Does bird flu affect the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) population in Barcelona?
• Endemic species, bats and rice: studying the role of bats as natural controllers of agricultural pests in Madagascar.
• Implementation of a plan for studying and monitoring the rarest mustelid in the world, the Colombian weasel (Mustela felipei).
• Presence and seasonality of the bluntnose sixgill shark or cow shark, (Hexanchus griseus) in deep waters in the north-eastern Mediterranean – implications for their conservation.
• An acoustic study of the distribution of amphibians in the Baixa Tordera area: searching for a species in regression.
• Harp-Cam: a new citizen-science measure for recording the cryptic diversity of Chiroptera.