Mammals 4.0: Behind the Scenes of Research – The Fourth Episode of DigitAP
The seventeenth edition of M’ammalia 2026 – Mammal Week kicks off on 23 October. This year’s theme is “Mammals 4.0: Behind the Scenes of Research”. The initiative provides an opportunity to showcase how technology and new methodologies are transforming the study, conservation and management of wildlife, and to launch the fourth episode in our documentary series dedicated to biodiversity monitoring. The series was produced with funding from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), as part of the DigitAP project, promoted and implemented by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), with the support of the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU. ISPRA played a leading role in the project’s scientific coordination.
This episode explores wildlife monitoring activities carried out in the Casentinesi Forests, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park. Although M’ammalia focuses on mammals, the documentary also features amphibians and reptiles, highlighting how every zoological group is interconnected and forms an integral part of the forest ecosystem in which it lives and which it helps shape.
Through striking footage, the documentary shows how researchers use infrared camera traps, bat detectors, nest boxes and footprint tunnels to collect standardized, non-invasive data on different species, including the most elusive ones, at the national level. It offers a tangible insight into what conducting research means today and demonstrates how technological innovation enables us to gain an ever-deeper understanding of our biodiversity and protect it more effectively.
The first episode in the series focuses on the Apennine brown bear, one of the most precious and vulnerable symbols of our biodiversity. The second episode focuses on habitat monitoring, while the third episode explores bird monitoring.