Building historical biodiversity databases from royal hunts

Historical biodiversity data are critical to understand long-term human impacts on ecosystems, and envision conservation and restoration targets. However, primary biodiversity data older than a few decades are scarce within the Natural Sciences and have to be searched in alternative sources. Here, we propose that reports of hunting activities by royal families can become relevant sources of information, exemplifying it by mining and analyzing data contained in the Asiento de Caza (hunting record) of 18th century Spanish king Ferdinand VI. The manuscript summarizes the results of 1241 hunts events developed between 1745 and 1755, totaling over 38 000 hunted individuals in 62 taxa. These data allow inferring variations in the availability of different species among hunting grounds and assessing seasonal presence in others. European courts have an abundant record of hunting activities, which constitute a yet sparsely explored source of the past states of natural systems.