Assessment Rationale:

Macaroeris desertensis is known throughout the islands and islets of Porto Santo and Desertas, Portugal. This species has a restricted geographic range with a maximum estimate of extent of occurrence (EOO) of ca 600 km² and area of occupancy (AOO) ofca 100 km². However, Macaroeris desertensis is assessed as Least Concern (LC), since the species seems to be common and the population is therefore assumed to be stable. Additionally there are no known threats to it. A monitoring of population trends should be conducted to confirm species status.

Geographic Range:

Macaroeris desertensis is known throughout the islands and islets of Porto Santo and Desertas, mainly on open grassland, scrubland and rocky areas. Multiple collection sites have been recorded for the species (Wunderlich 1992, Crespo et al. 2013). It was possible to perform species distribution modelling to predict its potential range with confidence limits (Cardoso et al. 2017).

 

Population:

No population size estimates exist, but the species seems to be common in open areas of several islands and islets and the population is assumed to be stable.

 

Habitat and Ecology

Macaroeris desertensis is known throughout the islands and islets of Porto Santo and Desertas, mainly on open grassland, scrubland and rocky areas. It is an active hunter on low vegetation feeding mainly on small/medium size arthropods.

Major Threat(s):

There are no known threats to the species.

Conservation Actions

No specific conservation measures are in place for the species, but part of the species range lies inside the Desertas Nature Reserve and in the Porto Santo Network of Marine Protected Areas (which includes islets). Monitoring of population trends should be conducted to confirm species status.