A digital version of the complete programme is available here: Programme and Book of Abstracts (PDF file)
| Monday | Day 1 – 21 September | |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | Registration, Welcome coffee/tea & Placing posters | |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Opening ceremony | Speakers: Stoycho Stoychev, Prof. Dr Lyuben Zagorchev & Prof. Dr Boyko Georgiev |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Keynote speaker: Csongor Gedeon | More than burrows: Why and how we should keep an eye on burrowing mammals (i.e. hamsters, ground squirrels) |
| Presentations: Survey methods and citizen science | ||
| 15:00 – 15:20 | Jazz Woollard et al. | Footprints for the future – Using AI to change how we monitor UK small mammals |
| 15:20 – 15:40 | Matt Larsen-Daw et al. | Searching for Shrews: Tracking the spread and ecological impact of a non-native shrew in the UK |
| 15:40 – 16:00 | Kiamos Nikolaos et al. | War of the Shrews: Investigating the ecology of the Cretan shrew and the congeneric Güldenstädt’s shrew on the island of Crete, with a focus on conservation. |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Coffee/tea break | |
| Presentations: Survey methods & others | ||
| 16:30 – 16:50 | Tihamér Fülöp | Improving density estimation of European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) populations using activity indices in two Natura 2000 sites from northwestern Romania |
| 16:50 – 17:10 | Dimitra-Lida Rammou | Assessing Long- and Medium-Term Stress Responses of the European Ground Squirrel to Wind Farm Construction Activities in Northern Greece |
| 17:10 – 17:30 | Matt Larsen-Daw et al. | Lessons from citizen science for small mammal conservation monitoring in Great Britain |
| 17:30 – 17:40 | Lukáš Poledník et al. | Use of drones for monitoring the European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus) |
| 17:40 – 18:00 | Maurice La Haye et al. | The use of environmental DNA to survey root voles (Alexandromys oeconomus) |
| 18:00 – 20:00 | Sofia city tour | |
| 20:00 – 22:00 | Dinner on your own | |
| Tuesday | Day 2 – 22 September | |
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Keynote speaker: Hendrik Schoukens | The unlikely Odyssey of the European hamster in Europe’s courts |
| Presentations: Reintroduction/translocation | ||
| 10:00 – 10:20 | Lydia Hönig et al. | How to conserve the common hamster in southern focal areas of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
| 10:20 – 10:40 | Andrzej Kepel et al. | Reintroduction of the European ground squirrel Spermophilus citellus in Poland: lessons learned from two decades of active conservation |
| 10:40 – 11:00 | Jitka Matoušová et al.: | Overview of conservation measures implemented for the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) in the Czech Republic |
| 11:00 – 11:40 | Coffee/tea break | |
| Presentations: Reintroduction/translocation | ||
| 11:40 – 12:00 | Selene Weidenkopf et al. | 20 Years of ex-situ conservation of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus L. 1748) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| 12:00 – 12:20 | Irena Schneiderová et al. | Enclosure effects on body mass and reproduction in the European ground squirrel: insights from 12 years of management |
| 12:20 – 12:40 | Štěpánka Říčanová et al. | Genomic assessment of historical and contemporary genetic diversity in the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) for conservation management in the Czech Republic |
| 12:40 – 13:00 | Maria Kachamakova et al. | Genetic monitoring during and after conservation reinforcement reveals the pattern of recovery of the genetic diversity in the recipient population |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch | |
| Presentations: Ex-situ breeding | ||
| 14:30 – 14:50 | Maria Kachamakova et al. | Captive breeding of Romanian hamsters (Mesocricetus newtoni) |
| 14:50 – 15:10 | Thomas Liebenstein et al. | Zoo Leipzig’s extended reinforcement and further conservation efforts for common hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) in Central Germany |
| 15:10 – 15:30 | Urszula Eichert | Acoustic communication as a potential tool in the captive breeding of European hamsters |
| 15:30 – 15:40 | Ewa Szczuka et al. | Prevalence of Staphylococcus xylosus in the skin microbiota of captive-bred European hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) |
| 15:40 – 15:50 | Niya Toshkova et al. | Expanding the phylogenetic distribution of temperature-sensitive antibodies |
| 15:50 – 17:00 | Coffee/tea break & Poster session | |
| Presentations: Diet and conflicts | ||
| 17:00 – 17:20 | Ferre Smekens et al. | Animal protein increases reproductive output in one‑year‑old European hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) |
| 17:20 – 17:40 | Barbara Győri-Koósz et al. | Diet and habitat preference of the European ground squirrels (Spermophilus citellus) in South-Western Slovakia |
| 17:40 – 18:00 | Kateřina Poledníková et al.: | European ground squirrels in gardens and crop fields: potential for conflict |
| 18:00 – 18:10 | Magdalena Hędrzak et al.: | Perceptions of the threats posed by domestic carnivores and road mortality to the survival of the European hamster among urban and rural residents in Poland |
| 18:10 – 18:30 | Olivér Váczi et al. | CitellusLIFE – trend-breaking safety net for EGS of the Pannonian region |
| 18:30 – 20:00 | Workshop towards comprehensive international cooperation in the conservation of the European ground squirrel | |
| 20:00 – | Dinner on your own | |
| Wednesday | Day 3 – 23 September | |
| 09:00 – 18:00 | Trip to a souslik colony near the Belmeken dam, Rila National Park | Gathering at departure point: Vasil Levski Stadium, Borisova Gradina, Evlogi i Hristo Georgiev Blvd 38, 1164 Sofia |
| 18:00 – | Dinner on your own | |
| Thursday | Day 4 – 24 September | Today sessions are in room 105 |
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Keynote speaker: Eva Millesi | European ground squirrels and common hamsters: Life history strategies and conservation aspects in urban and suburban areas |
| Presentations: Distribution/Conservation status | ||
| 10:00 – 10:20 | Kerstin Mammen et al. | From agricultural pest to a nearly extinct species – the status of the Common Hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in Saxony-Anhalt |
| 10:20 – 10:40 | Jan Matějů et al. | Recent population trends of the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) in the Czech Republic |
| 10:40 – 11:00 | Attila Németh et al. | Population changes of the European ground squirrels in the management area of Hortobágy National Park Directorate |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Coffee/tea break | |
| Presentations: Distribution/Conservation status | ||
| 11:30 – 11:50 | Zsolt Hegyeli et al. | New records of the grey dwarf hamster (Nothocricetulus migratorius) from Romania |
| 11:50 – 12:10 | Nedko Nedyalkov et al. | Strong decline of the distribution and abundance of Cricetus cricetus and Mesocricetus newtoni (Mammalia: Cricetinae) in Bulgaria |
| 12:10 – 12:30 | Virág Nyíri et al. | Phylogeography and conservation genomics of common hamster (Cricetus cricetus, Cricetidae) in Central-Eastern Europe |
| 12:30 – 12:50 | Gábor Sramkó et al. | Genomic approaches for the conservation of the last Hungarian birch mouse (Sicista trizona trizona, Sminthidae) population |
| 13:00 – 14:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:30 – 15:30 | Keynote speaker: Fiona Mathews | Small mammal declines and why they matter |
| 15:30 – 15:40 | Declaration on small mammal conservation in Europe | |
| Presentations: Habitat use | ||
| 15:40 – 16:00 | Attila Németh et al. | Rescuing ‘invisible mammals’: Conservation efforts for the blind mole rat species of Hungary |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Coffee/tea break & Poster session | |
| Presentations: Habitat fragmentation/Connectivity | ||
| 17:00 – 17:20 | Jan Matějů et al. | Beyond the grassland: dispersal and colonisation of the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) in a fragmented landscape |
| 17:20 – 17:40 | Kiamos Nikolaos et al. | Awakening the Thracian Dormice: An investigation into the ecology and conservation of Myomimus roachi and sympatric glirids. |
| 17:40 – 18:00 | Pia Stein et al. | How is the flow? – A view on landscape permeability for the common hamster |
| 18:00 – 20:00 | Sofia city tour | |
| 20:00 – 22:00 | Gala dinner and performances at the faculty | |
| Friday | Day 5 – 25 September | |
| Presentations: Habitat fragmentation & Connectivity | ||
| 09:00 – 09:20 | Victoria Nistreanu et al. | Current status of ground squirrel species (Spermophilus citellus and Spermophilus suslicus) in the Republic of Moldova |
| 09:20 – 09:40 | Franz Suchentrunk et al.: | Habitat use and population dynamics of European ground squirrels in a vineyard-dominated landscape |
| 09:40 – 10:00 | Mikhail Rusin | Rapid urbanisation of the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in Ukraine |
| 10:00 – 10:20 | Julianna Szulamit Szapu et al. | An underestimated and overlooked threat: The hidden impact of roadkill on the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) |
| 10:20 – 10:30 | Monika Petković et al. | Why don’t we do anything? The European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) as a conservation challenge in Croatia |
| 10:30 – 10:50 | Ben Fleischer et al. | Insights into the current progress of the LIFE4HamsterSaxony project and the implementation of its first innovative measures |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Coffee/tea break | |
| Presentations: Causes of death & predation | ||
| 11:30 – 11:50 | Ivaylo Danchev Angelov | How Golden eagles hunt sousliks: A review of hunting strategies |
| 11:50 – 12:10 | Benedek Juhász et al. | Prey composition of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) based on two different methods |
| 12:10 – 12:30 | Yana Andonova et al. | Reintroduced Saker Falcons (Falco cherrug Gray, 1834) are dependent on European ground squirrels during the breeding period in Bulgaria |
| 12:30 – 12:40 | Anton Stamenov et al. | Foraging and parental behaviour of a Saker falcon pair raising five fledglings: implications for territory quality and prey demand |
| 12:40 – 13:00 | Presenting awards (Best talk, Best poster) | The awards are kindly donated by Pensoft Publishers and the European Mammal Foundation. |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:30 – 16:00 | Departure of attendees |