The Turtle Reproduction Center (CRT) of Albera, in Garriguella (Girona) is building an artificial pond to attract amphibians, dragonflies and some reptiles and encourage their reproduction.
La Albera is, precisely, one of the natural spaces with the greatest biodiversity in Catalonia and Western Europe.
Of the 18 species of amphibians in Catalonia, 13 are in the Albera and of these, 11 have been observed in the center. Among them, there is the green newt, the frog or the toad. Dragonflies and spiademons, there are 70 species and 43 are present in the Albera, seven of them in the CRT.
The lack of water puts the balance of this ecosystem at risk. The new pond, which will be launched in March, wants to be a focus of attraction for this fauna.
Approximately ten years ago and thanks to a LIFE project of the European Union, the Turtle Reproduction Center was able to build 31 artificial ponds for the captive breeding of the tin turtle, a seriously endangered species.
During 2022, with help from the German Society of Herpetology, an area of 2,500 square meters began to be adapted where spaces have been created for the reproduction of the Mediterranean tortoise.
It was precisely in those ponds where there were no turtles that the center's technicians detected the presence of newts, pippins or insect larvae.
"We saw that these water points favored the presence of these amphibians, invertebrates and some reptiles," explains center technician Andreu Cufí. However, the fact that they were in the pond turtle area meant that many specimens became food for this species before becoming adults. This is what is known as a "biological trap."
With the aim of promoting an ideal ecosystem, the center began to devise the project of constructing an artificial pond exclusively for this fauna.
"We have decided to carry out this project, with the help of the Alchimia Solidària Foundation, to favor these species in this area of Albera, where it rains little, there is a lot of water scarcity and where when it rains the water filters very quickly and hardly There are permanent water points," Cufí points out.
"Now that there is so much drought, having a permanent water point _ they will use a recirculation pump _ will help all these species have a place to reproduce and other animals such as birds can also come," adds the center's technician.
The raft, 14 meters long and almost nine meters wide, is under construction and is scheduled to be completed at the end of March, when the center will reopen its doors coinciding with the end of the turtles' hibernation.
The space will also be visitable by the more than 8,000 visitors who pass through the center annually. It is planned to be renaturalized and an information sign will be installed explaining the diversity of species that are going to be established.
The work has been entrusted to the same company, specialized in this type of intervention, that was already in charge of the construction of the turtle ponds.
As for the vegetation, apart from the spontaneous one that appears, cattail and yellow lily will be planted. Inside, there will be native water lilies, which remain in the center and were moved from a pond that disappeared in the Baix Ter in 1994. Another aquatic plant will also be planted, Euphorbia palustris, a species linked to humid areas and which remains in the regions. Girona, one of the only towns in Catalonia. The center preserves several specimens recovered from the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà.
It is not the first time that an initiative of this nature has been carried out. At the end of November, members of the Special Forest Fire Prevention Group (GEPIF) poured some 3,000 liters of regenerated water from the Port de la Selva treatment plant into a pond in Cap de Creus to encourage the reproduction of several amphibians. This is a historic pond in Mas Ventós, where experts had counted up to seven species of amphibians such as the green newt, the salamander or the toad, but which the accumulated drought had left completely dry.
The lack of rain has kept this center on alert for some time. This summer, drought accelerated the birth of Mediterranean tortoises and caused the death of some hatchlings. In the center, some completely dried specimens were found in the eggs.
Despite the alarm caused by the situation, Cufí says that the few rains that occurred at the end of August and beginning of September helped reverse the scenario and, finally, about 300 babies have been born. "Sometimes we've had 400 but 300 is a good number," he says.
But what they are detecting now in the middle of the hibernation stage is that on days with the highest temperatures some turtles come out of their burrows. "Also, since there is a lot of drought, the moment it rains a little and they detect water, they go out," Cufí details.
