The Spanish Society of Malacology (SEM) has approved this year to launch an environmental awareness campaign focused on two species of threatened snails Vertigo moulinsiana and Vertigo angustior, entitled "A year of Vertigo,". The SEM, which has among its aims the protection and conservation of molluscs, presents two species of Vertigo as "mollusc of 2016". The campaign is part of the project activities LIFE Potamo Fauna, which focuses on improving the populations of endangered species of European interest in the Natura 2000 network of basins Ter, Fluvià and Muga.

The aim of the initiative is to familiarize the society with the existence of these gastropods and publicize their ecological importance, as they are highly dependent on species conservation of its habitat, and therefore excellent indicators. Iberian populations of both species are endangered. The last major populations are known Banyoles lake. They have different specific requirements and terms and hydrogeological conditions in the micro habitats they occupy. They are very sensitive to changes in drainage and disturbance and fragmentation of their habitat, and these are the main reasons for the significant decline in their populations in recent decades.

Vertigo moulinsiana and Vertigo angustior species are of European interest and it is necessary for its conservation to designate special conservation areas for the Natura 2000 network (Habitats Directive); in Spain they are included in the List of Wild Species in Special Protection Status.

During this year scientific and environmental awareness activities will develop, aimed both at specific groups and society in general. All information will be available on the social networks of the SEM, and more specifically to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MOLUSCO2016SEM and Twitter hashtag: # SEMoluscoAño2016.

In addition, it will promote the creation of networking between different research groups that are working on the management and conservation of these two species, such as the Research Group on Systematics, Biogeography and Population Dynamics of the University of the Basque Country, who participates in the LIFE project, and the l’Institut Valencià de Biodiversitat, Taxonomia i Conservació Animal del Museu Valencià d’Història Natural d’Alginet, which has launched the project Vertigo in Valencia and Castilla-la Mancha, as well as co-operation with Grupo de Investigación Agua, Derecho y Medio Ambiente de la Universidad de Zaragoza to draw up proposals on the legal protection of both species in Spain and in the regions where they are.

LIFE Potamo Fauna is a four year project (2014-2017) which is financed by European funds by 50%. Apart from snails Vertigo moulinsiana and Vertigo angustior it also works in the conservation of other endangered species like the White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), the Naiad Unio elongatulus and European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis). It also fights against various alien invasive species.