Pyrenees

The Pyrenean brown bear population is annually monitored by cross-border wildlife services involving Andorran,
Spanish and French teams. In France, the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB), through the Brown Bear Network (BBN), is in charge
of this task. The monitoring relies on non-invasive field collection of brown bear presence signs conducted using either an
opportunistic (damages on livestock, testimonies) or systematic (sampling design) protocol.
In 2020, on the French side of the Pyrenees, 483 prospection days were dedicated to systematic monitoring through
predefined trails and 465 through camera trapping, with a respective percentage of positive visits of 29% and 16%. In 2020,
1,977 signs (excluding GPS data) were collected by the BBN, among which 1,525 were confirmed as bear signs, that is an
increase of 6% compared to 2019 and of 28% compared to 2018. Hair samples (34%), predations (25%), photos-videos (19%),
scats (14%) and tracks (5%) represent the major part of all collected signs. 804 bear signs were collected by Spanish services
across all provinces: 33% of hair samples, 29% of photos-videos, 15% of scats, 9% of tracks, 6% of predations, and 8% of other
types of cues. In Andorra, only two bear signs were collected.
On the French side of the Pyrenees, 369 attacks (classified as bear attacks) on livestock and 5 attacks on beehives were
registered in 2020, compared to 349 and 13, respectively, in 2019. In contrast, in Spain, the total number of bear attacks (both
on livestock and beehives) has continuously decreased since 2018, with 90 attacks in 2018, 69 in 2019 and 48 in 2020.
Since 2016, several movements of males (the bears Néré, Cannellito and Rodri) have been detected between
Occidental Pyrenees and Centro-oriental Pyrenees, indicating the confirmation of a new functional connectivity between these
two historically isolated nuclei. In 2020, this connectivity was particularly effective, since the population range is continuous
from Navarra in the west to the upper Ariège in the east. As annually observed since 2016, the male Néré was detected several
times during the year on both sides of these 2 historical nuclei. But the year 2020 was particularly marked by the return of the
male Cannellito in Béarn, whereas he had not been observed there since 2016. The participation of Néré to the reproduction in
the Central Pyrenees validates the decision taken in 2018 to consider a single area of bear presence extending from the Eastern
Pyrenees to the Atlantic Pyrenees and Navarra, with a distance between the most extreme confirmed bear signs of 272 km in
2019.
The Minimum Detected Size (MDS) in 2020, for the whole Pyrenees, is of 64 bears, including 7 bears that died
or were considered as dead over the year (2 adults, 1 subadult and 4 cubs of the year).
In 2020, the Pyrenean brown bear distribution range covers 8,200 km², that is 2,200 km² less than in 2019, but
800 km² more than in 2018. Nevertheless, this strong decrease compared to 2019 should be moderated, because the bear
Goiat is the main responsible for those inter-annual changes. Although Goiat made again large southward movements during
the spring 2020, those movements were much smaller than in 2019, when Goiat alone increased the range by about 2,000 km²
compared to 2018.
A minimum of 9 litters totalizing 16 cubs of the year were detected. At least 4 of the 10 bears born and detected
in 2019 were detected as alive in 2020. In contrast, 6 bears (4 adults and 2 subadults including Douillous) detected in 2019 were
not detected in 2020 but are not considered as disappeared for now. In addition, 4 subadults, including 2 born in 2019, are
considered as disappeared in 2020.
In 2020, the population includes at least 29 females, 29 males and 6 individuals of undetermined sex, including 35
adults (23 females and 12 males), 13 subadults and 16 cubs of the year.
The detection of 6 bears in 2020 (4 females and 2 males), not detected in 2019, allows us to add 6 individuals to the
2019 MDS and thus to obtain a Minimum Retained Size (MRS) for 2019 of 58 bears on the whole Pyrenean mountain range.
Among these 6 bears, 2 of them (New17-02 and New18-03) were not detected as well in 2018 and were thus considered as
disappeared because they had not been detected for more than two years. These 2 bears should therefore also be added to
the 2018 MRS, which thus reaches 51 individuals. The demographic trend shows that the Pyrenean brown bear population is
increasing progressively. Based on MRS, the average annual population growth rate between 2006 and 2019 is estimated
at 10.96% for the whole Pyrenees.

Las políticas ambientales han adquirido una presencia creciente en la comarca del Pallars Sobirà en el curso de las últimas décadas. El análisis de su desarrollo histórico permite interpretar la construcción contemporánea de la montaña como un espacio de consumo destinado fundamentalmente al ocio urbano.

Yeast isolates were obtained from fuel tanks of vehicles in order to assess their potential use in the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Growth assays were performed in minimum mineral medium using different aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) as the sole carbon source. Isolates that showed growth in any of the tested polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were identified by Sanger sequencing of the ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA molecular markers. A total of 16 yeasts strains were isolated, and three showed remarkable growth in media with aromatic hydrocarbons as the sole carbon source. These strains belong to the genus Rhodotorula, and correspond to the species Rhodotorula calyptogenae (99,8% identity) and Rhodotorula dairenensis (99,8% identity).  These strains grew in benzene, toluene, naphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene. This study demonstrates for the first time that yeasts of the genus Rhodotorula inhabit pipelines and fuel tanks of vehicles and that remove  aromatic hydrocarbons that are environmental pollutants. Our results suggest that these yeasts are potential candidates for aromatic hydrocarbon degradation as part of bioremediation strategies.

La proliferació de les àrees protegides és un fenomen destacat dels Pirineus contemporanis. Els parcs i les reserves s'han estès per unes muntanyes que fins fa unes poques dècades recolzaven les formes de vida d'amplis sectors de població. La funció assignada avui a aquests territoris respon a unes demandes, de procedència urbana, associades al turisme i al consum de béns patrimonials. En aquest context, la natura ha adquirit un gran protagonisme a nivell econòmic, polític i cultural.
El Pallars Sobirà ofereix un marc idoni per observar amb detall la complexitat d'aquests processos. Parcs als comunals. La patrimonialització de la muntanya al Pallars Sobirà analitza com, més enllà dels valors ambientals dels paisatges de la comarca, les polítiques de conservació que s'hi desenvolupen es relacionen amb factors com el despoblament o l'elevada proporció de terrenys de titularitat pública i col·lectiva procedents dels antics comunals, i constitueixen la darrera versió d'un esforç de territorialització impulsat per l'Estat.

This innovative work of historical ecology advances the integration of research on environmental and social systems, contributing important lessons for contemporary natural resource policy and management. A diverse, international region, the Pyrenees has been characterized as a quintessential example of rural areas across Europe and North America. The authors use qualitative and quantitative methodes from economics, history, anthropology, and ecological science to integrate human agency and ecology across a landscape that moved from agricultural and pastoral production to industrialization, then experienced acute depopulation, and now is becoming a focus of conservation and tourism. The book shows how today's most pressing resource policy challenges are best illuminated by this broad, long-term understanding of humans and landscapes.

This article synthesises recent zooarchaeological studies and techno-typological analyses of Azilian assemblages from southwestern
France. This data, occasionally complemented by information from bone tools and mobiliary art, allows the variability of the
various Azilian industries to be discussed and sheds new light on the diachronic evolution of Lateglacial societies in the region. Situated
chronologically between the Early Azilian and the Laborian, faunal assemblages from the Late Azilian and its regional manifestations on
both sides of the Garonne Plain are investigated in order to better understand questions concerning the exploitation of the environment.
 

 
  




  
 






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lying Magdalenian in regards both the lithic industry (bipoints and backed points interpreted as hunting weapons, and small, regular
blades with scalariform retouch) and the faunal spectrum (reindeer replaced by horse). Overlying this Early Azilian occupation, the
less dense Late Azilian occupation is represented by less well-prepared, backed points on blades associated with a faunal assemblage
dominated by rabbit and red deer.
The long stratigraphic sequence of Pont d’Ambon includes several layers attributed to the Magdalenian, Early Azilian, Late Azilian
and Laborian. Differences in knapping techniques suggests that the Late Azilian can be divided into two assemblages representing
 




 






 


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debitage modes differ between the two assemblage types. The Laborian is characterised by several particular artefacts – backed points
with truncated bases on small, very regular blades and tools on fairly regular blades – demonstrating a higher technical investment than
is evident with the Late Azilian assemblage.
More general aspects of the Early, Late Azilian and Laborian lithic industries are also discussed by taking into account others sites of
the northern Aquitaine region such as Rochereil, Roc d’Abeilles, Pégourié, Pagès, Le Morin and Le Cuzoul de Gramat. Compared to
the Early Azilian, Late Azilian assemblages show simpler production modes, although some technical traditions persist (blade production
and châine opératoires). In terms of faunal exploitation, the combination of ungulates such as red deer and smaller game such as






 
 
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Margineda (Early Azilian, an Azilian with harpoons, Final Azilian). A major difference with Troubat lies in the preferential use of local

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phases of Rhodes II (level ‘Foyer 5’: Early Azilian, level ‘Foyer 6’ intermediate, ‘Foyer 7’: Late Azilian with harpoons), but remains
consistent at Balma Margineda (level 10 and 9: Early Azilian, level 8: Typical Azilian, level 7: Final Azilian). Although the Azilian is
easily distinguishable from other regional industries, its internal variability remains to be documented and its early and late phases are



  

Laborian sites in the central Pyrenees are less typical than those from the northern Aquitaine with the best-preserved assemblages being
those from Gouërris, Manirac and Buholoup. Laborian material is present on other regional sites such as Troubat, Mas d’Azil or La
Tourasse; however, no clear occupation layers have been documented. As in the northern Aquitaine, red deer remains the major prey




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larly at Troubat, were rarely captured and consumed. The presence of other game in the faunal spectrum such as the ibex, indicative of
more mountainous terrains, demonstrates the exploitation of a variety of different biotopes.

Les années 1980 correspondent aux dernières études de synthèse sur l'Épipaléolithique dans les Landes et les Pyrénées occidentales. Depuis, de nouveaux sites ont été découverts tandis que nos conceptions sur la transition entre Paléolithique et Mésolithique ont beaucoup évolué. A la lumière d’un réexamen des données et des séries lithiques, un nouvel aperçu des sites épipaléolithiques des Pyrénées occidentales est présenté ici et les attributions chronoculturelles de chaque ensemble sont discutées sur la base de données pluridisciplinaires. Parce que la chaîne pyrénéenne n'a pas constitué une frontière étanche, nous abordons aussi les sites des provinces espagnoles de Navarre et du Guipúzcoa. Nous tentons de définir des critères pertinents permettant de caractériser l’Azilien et les autres techno-complexes épipaléolithiques. Nous proposons pour finir une vision plus complexe et plus nuancée des industries épipaléolithiques étudiées.
The last summary reports about the Epipalaeolithic period in the Landes and the western Pyrénées were brought during the 1980s. Since then, new archaeological sites and analysis methods have changed our conceptions about the transition between Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ages. After reconsidering data and lithic series, a new outline on epipalaeolithic sites on the south of Aquitaine is proposed here and we discuss the chronological and cultural attributions of each group, based on multidisciplinary data. Because the Pyrénées have never been an impenetrable barreer, the sites of Navarre and Guipuzcoa from the Spanish area are also considered. This summary is also the opportunity to define relevant criteria allowing the characterization of Epipalaeolithic techno-complexes.
The series of the cliff of the Pastou (Duruthy, Dufaure and Grand Pastou) are first studied through a multidisciplinary analysis considering bone industry, lithic technology and symbolic evidences. This study shows occupations during Azilian period and the very final Magdalenian one.
A new study of the lithic series from the Landes, collected on outdoor sites and considered from the Epipalaeolithic age, suggest a human occupation during the Azilian period and maybe the Laborian one. Techniques of knapping and tools composition (full of polymorphic backed points and short or unguiform scrapers, without any Magdalenian tool) bring the evidence of such an occupation, raising the question of the link between these settlements and the neighbouring area loaded with silica resources.
Lithic technology, bone industry and symbolic evidences in Bourrouilla in Arancou, Isturitz and Leherreko-ziloa today complete the data about the Arudy valley. They show the complexity of assemblages after the upper Magdalenian. Therefore, the absence of bone industry, the extreme rarity of symbolic evidences, the general implementation of blade productions with hammerstones and the presence of polymorph and “fusiforme” backed points conclude to a final Magdalenian occupation in Bourrouilla. The Azilian seems undeniable in a site like the Arudy valley (Espalungue) and maybe in Isturitz where it could be mixed with Laborian.
The Navarre and the Guipuzcoa are mentioned through the bibliography. These works bring essentially a typological approach of lithic and bone industry technologies, often completed with stratigraphic data. Despite the obvious existence of local features (scraper numerous than burin), the application of the analytical grid built on the northern mountainside shows that it is undeniable that Azilian settlements existed (Abauntz d, Berroberria 6B, Anton Koba VIII and Atabo), that Laborian presence needs to be confirmed (Berroberria D sup.). A similar industry as the one found in the layer A in Arancou does seem to exist in Berroberia D inf., Zatoya II and IIb excavated in 1997. The discussions are more difficult with the other sites, or because data are incomplete or because a certain amount of signs reminds of crossings between Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic occupations.
The results confirm that it is a stage in human history whose perception is confused by several elements: from data often incomplete (Old excavations, studies partly done, not well-preserved levels, …), to different ways of thinking, with a lack of stratigraphic sequences on the whole period, and technology, economics and/or local variation in human behaviours. It is nonetheless not impossible to propose a more complex and subtle vision of Epipalaeolithic technologies studied.

This book offers the first collective discussion, by archaeologists, historians and philologists, of a corpus of six charters (four of which recently discovered) that all came from or are linked to the archive of the monastery of Asán. The various contributions examine the monastery in its territorial context across the centuries, and its economic underpinning through the exploitation of its estates. Also included are explorations of monastic life in the eastern Pyrenees, which provides some of the earliest evidence for it in the peninsula, and consideration of its connections to early Gallic and Italian monasticism. Asán is also the source of the earliest evidence for the use of particular forms of documentary record or charter in the Iberian Peninsula in the post-Roman period. These texts offer unexpected and important information about the legal and administrative practices of the Visigothic monarchy in the late sixth century and of the monastery’s connections to it. Amongst these are its role in providing a succession of bishops for important dioceses in the provinces of Tarraconensis and Narbonensis, in a period normally seen as being marked by religious conflict between church and state. Amongst other bodies of evidence studied here are later texts relating to Asán, including the hagiographic dossiers of Victorianus, abbot of Asán, and of Gaudiosus, bishop of Tarrazona, with new critical editions of several of them being included in this book.