But your functions are not only for conservation and monitoring of this species.
RP: My duties include not only the conservation of the monk seal of Madeira, I am also connected the area of the sea park. I give advice on the marine fauna and have another job in the reserve that is receiving visitors. In the park are very versatile, we have a function, but we ended up doing a little team work.
Speaking a bit about the work at sea for years you said that there was almost no fish and the current landscape is different, because the reserve has a very special nature.
RP: This reserve from my perspective it is very well done, because before it had established a concern to inform people who used this area for fishing for the need to create a reservation and prepared fishermen and when they rated the islands there was a part of the protected area where fishing is still allowed. Before they fished with gillnets that had a big problem that was dragging everything from the sea floor. It is so thin that everything that comes to the net was fish. Also had not the ability to make the selection of fish, for example, species of smaller size were attached, did not do that selection and they also used the pump. That is, fishermen now enjoy this space and there was the renewal of fish stocks that were previously under explored. With the creation of the reserve the fishermen can return to fish in a sustainable way.
Currently licensed fishermen have special nets to avoid such situations?
RP: The gill nets were banned in the archipelago of Madeira, the fishermen who come here fish with a line, tuna fish are caught with jumping and pole and uses they use net only to catch live bait, catch lots of fish, but are less size, do not allow large catches of fish only in a localized area and do not represent a very big problem for the species.
There has been much talk about global warming, the appearance of new species in the waters of the archipelago. You also see that in the Desert islands?
RP: Yes well, I think there have not been continued studies in order to reach this conclusion. It appeared that species are not common, or even are, but people were not used to seeing them, I'm remembering the example of what we call "living waters" off the coast of Madeira, which appeared a lot and people started saying that was derived global warming, but no studies allow us reaching this conclusion. Maybe episodically there were large amounts of jellyfish, but was not register. In the Wild islands we have seen that for years it appears a lot of fish, others less so, but it is difficult to relate to global warming, may be or maybe not.
Have you done a survey of the terrestrial fauna of the reserve?
RP: The survey is done and we have identified the species that exist here in the islands, usually when I speak to groups that are some more representative, we miniaturize particularly seabirds, such as the Nun of the Bugio, which makes nest only in an area where the ground is softer. There is a monitoring work that involves regular visits to see the nest egg, we do a follow up of the chicks, and we see if the offspring's are growing or declining. Right now colleagues found that we have fewer juveniles than last year, but overall growth or not is something that is normal. There are years that is much less rather them others, is floating and does not have a direct cause, if there is a natural one only over time that we can reach a conclusion.
Then there are the shearwaters.
RP: The shearwaters nest in areas where there are holes in the middle of the rock and generally in areas closer to the sea, unlike the nun who makes nest on the top the Bugio. Here at the dock the whole area is covered with shearwater nests. The population remains stable.
There is much talk of tarantulas Madeira, that nobody sees them.
RP: It's a tarantula that nobody sees, because it resides on top of the great desert called the valley of Castanheira, and if we go there we had to walk about 3 hours. It is endemic to the Big Island, only lives right there. It is poisonous, one of the guards of nature has been bitten by one and his arm and was very swollen, but he was a young and strong person.
So it can kill?
RP: Yes, if the person is more fragile and does not arrive on time to the hospital may have a more negative effect. What matters is that these people cannot get to the top of the mountain. However, if we were on the Castanheira Valley we would not see this tarantula, because during the day they stay under rocks, it has nocturnal habits, overnight is only coming out to feed, they eat lizards and insects.
There is a special atmosphere at the top that allows the proliferation of the species?
RP: We think that yes, there is a microclimate that is specific and the tarantulas focus there, we have estimated an average around 200 animals.
In terms of flora, although is a protected area I see species that should not be part of the landscape, for example, fig trees. Are these species that have expanded at the expense of the people or the seeds traveled with the wind?
RP: Before it was a reserve, groups of people and fishermen came here, came to earth and killed the shearwaters, also did families picnicked and had the habit of planting, and these fig trees were for shade. In the case of this fruit tree, as it is not invasive species fortunately. However, we have for years a plant which had to make eradication in order to create space for the most important endemic plants that exist here.
Another work of eradication includes the goats; geographical isolation did not provide a new species in genetic terms?
RP: There was no time for that, this usually occurs when the conditions are completely different from those that they would have in Madeira. Here are different, but not enough and there was not time in terms of genetic alterations. 500 years is not much, would have had more time.
So it has to be eliminated from this ecosystem?
RP: Yes, because they eat everything, as we see this space around the building, we called it the garden, and we can appreciate these largely stems and before we had tufts of thick beautiful vegetation that was disappeared.
