BARN owls and quagga mussels will feature among the biodiversity projects that will be undertaken by Limerick City and County Council as a result of a €32,253 allocation from the Local Biodiversity Action Fund.
The fund, which supports the implementation of the National Biodiversity Action Plan, also includes €15,725 for a baseline survey to protect Limerick’s wetlands. It will also allow an assessment of the role of the wetlands in climate adaptation by controlling floods and climate mitigation by acting as carbon sinks.
€13,157 has been allocated to a citizen science and strategic survey to assess the status, trends and breeding performance of barn owls and to identify their conservation requirements in the county. The survey will assess the health of barn owl populations in the county and ensure that nest sites are kept safe. It will also help build capacity for barn owl conservation to secure the future of the species in the county.
A further €3,371 will go towards a project involving eight other local authorities focusing on the quagga mussel, a high impact aquatic invasive alien species discovered in the Shannon last year. It is predicted that the quagga mussel will outcompete the zebra mussel, establish higher biomass, affect the filtering rates of lake and river water as well as threatening water supplies.
