Prilog poznavanju herpetofaune (Amphibia & Reptilia) donjeg dijela rijeke Neretve (Hrvatska i Bosna i Hercegovina)

In this paper we present newly collected data and historical overview of the herpetofauna of Neretva River Valley. During two consecutive years (2011, 2012) we collected new data about the presence of reptiles and amphibians in the area, on 25 sampling sites, of which 21 in Croatia and 4 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During our survey we recorded the presence of 21 species of which 18 are listed in the IUCN Red list. The literature records added another 13 species, so the total number for amphibians and reptiles in the area is 34 species, 11 amphibian and 23 reptiles. With such a high diversity, the area of Neretva River is one of the hotspots of the amphibian and reptile diversity in Croatia. Lower Neretva Valley is now days under a strong anthropogenic influence, and most of the area is used for plantations and intensive agriculture. It is of a critical importance to conserve and protect the remaining natural habitat in the future.U ovom radu predstavljamo novo prikupljene podatke, kao i povijesni pregled herpetofaune doline rijeke Neretve. Tijekom 2011. i 2012. godine prikupili smo podatke o prisutnosti vodozemaca i gmazova na 25 lokaliteta, od kojih se 21 nalazio u Hrvatskoj a 4 u Bosni i Hercegovini. Tijekom našeg istraživanja utvrdili smo prisutnost 21 vrste, od kojih je 18 navedeno na IUCN-ovom Crvenom Popisu. Literaturnim nalazima utvrdili smo prisutnost još 13 vrsta, tako da je poznati broj vrsta na području Neretve 34, od čega 11 vrsta vodozemaca i 23 vrste gmazova. Sa ovolikim brojem vrsta, područje rijeke Neretve može se smatrati vrućom točkom bioraznolikosti vodozemaca i gmazova u Hrvatskoj. Donji tok rijeke Neretve je danas pod snažnim antropogenim utjecajem, i veći dio se upotrebljava za plantaže i intenzivnu poljoprivredu. U budućnosti će biti od ključne važnosti očuvati preostala prirodna staništa toga područja

Prilog poznavanju herpetofaune (Amphibia & Reptilia) donjeg dijela rijeke Neretve (Hrvatska i Bosna i Hercegovina)

In this paper we present newly collected data and historical overview of the herpetofauna of Neretva River Valley. During two consecutive years (2011, 2012) we collected new data about the presence of reptiles and amphibians in the area, on 25 sampling sites, of which 21 in Croatia and 4 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During our survey we recorded the presence of 21 species of which 18 are listed in the IUCN Red list. The literature records added another 13 species, so the total number for amphibians and reptiles in the area is 34 species, 11 amphibian and 23 reptiles. With such a high diversity, the area of Neretva River is one of the hotspots of the amphibian and reptile diversity in Croatia. Lower Neretva Valley is now days under a strong anthropogenic influence, and most of the area is used for plantations and intensive agriculture. It is of a critical importance to conserve and protect the remaining natural habitat in the future.U ovom radu predstavljamo novo prikupljene podatke, kao i povijesni pregled herpetofaune doline rijeke Neretve. Tijekom 2011. i 2012. godine prikupili smo podatke o prisutnosti vodozemaca i gmazova na 25 lokaliteta, od kojih se 21 nalazio u Hrvatskoj a 4 u Bosni i Hercegovini. Tijekom našeg istraživanja utvrdili smo prisutnost 21 vrste, od kojih je 18 navedeno na IUCN-ovom Crvenom Popisu. Literaturnim nalazima utvrdili smo prisutnost još 13 vrsta, tako da je poznati broj vrsta na području Neretve 34, od čega 11 vrsta vodozemaca i 23 vrste gmazova. Sa ovolikim brojem vrsta, područje rijeke Neretve može se smatrati vrućom točkom bioraznolikosti vodozemaca i gmazova u Hrvatskoj. Donji tok rijeke Neretve je danas pod snažnim antropogenim utjecajem, i veći dio se upotrebljava za plantaže i intenzivnu poljoprivredu. U budućnosti će biti od ključne važnosti očuvati preostala prirodna staništa toga područja

Pregled jedanaest kratkotrajnih istraživanja faune gmazova na području zapadnog Balkana

In this paper we present distributional data for reptiles from different localities in the Western Balkans. During an 11 year period (2002-2012) we collected new data in the frame of spring student research camps organized by the Biology Students’ Society (DŠB). Surveys were conducted by members of the herpetological groups that were mostly biology students. Surveys were located on five islands Dugi otok, Brač, Korčula, Mljet, and Pag, one peninsula Pelješac (Croatia), in the continental area around Kamenovo and Lake Skadar (Montenegro), Dojran Lake (Macedonia), at lower Neretva Delta (Croatia) and around Niš (Serbia). Altogether 34 different reptile species were recorded in the surveys. The species lists comprised of 7-22 different species per single locality. The highest reptile biodiversity was recorded around Dojran Lake in Macedonia.U radu se prikazuju distribucijski podatci za gmazove sa različitih lokaliteta na području zapadnog Balkana. Tijekom razdoblja od 11 godina (2002. – 2012.) prikupili smo nove podatke u okviru studentskih istraživačkih kampova organiziranih od strane Društva studenata biologije (DSB). Istraživanja su provedena od strane pripadnika herpetološke sekcije koju većinom čine studenti biologije. Istraživanja su provedena na pet otoka, Dugi otok, Brač, Korčula, Mljet i Pag, jednom poluotoku, Pelješac (Hrvatska), na kontinentalnom području oko Kamenova i Skadarskog jezera (Crna Gora), okolici Dojranskog jezera (Makedonija), na području donjeg dijela rijeke Neretve (Hrvatska) i oko grada Niša (Srbija). Istraživanjem je ukupno zabilježeno 34 različite vrste gmazova. Na pojedinim lokalitetima zabilježeno je od 7 do 22 vrste gmazova, a najveća raznolikost zabilježena je oko Dojranskog jezera u Makedoniji

Morphometry and locomotor performance of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) from natural and urban habitat

Pozidna kuščarica (Podarcis muralis) naseljuje raznolika življenjska okolja. V različnih okoljih lahko kuščarice razvijejo prilagoditve na lokalno okolje. V naši raziskavi smo primerjali pozidne kuščarice iz naravnega in urbanega okolja. Okolji sta se med seboj razlikovali predvsem po količini in gostoti vegetacije ter naklonu podlage. Opisali smo morfometrične lastnosti in gibalne sposobnosti obeh spolov kuščaric iz obeh okolij in ugotavljali, ali med njimi obstajajo razlike. Na kuščaricah smo izmerili šest morfometričnih meritev in v laboratorijskem poskusu izmerili največjo hitrost teka po ravnem in navkreber. Predvidevali smo, da bodo imele kuščarice iz naravnega okolja, kjer je vegetacija redka in naklon podlage bolj strm, daljše okončine in bodo dosegale večje največje hitrosti kot kuščarice iz urbanega okolja, kjer je vegetacija gostejša, podlaga pa večinoma horizontalna. Nasprotno smo ugotovili, da imajo kuščarice iz urbanega okolja značilno daljše zadnje okončine in dosegajo večje največje hitrosti pri teku po ravnem in navkreber kot kuščarice iz naravnega okolja. Med spoloma smo ugotovili razlike: samci so imeli značilno daljše zadnje okončine in večje glave, samo pri kuščaricah iz naravnega okolja pa smo opazili tudi, da imajo samice značilno daljše trupe kot samci.Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) inhabits diverse habitats. In different habitats they can develop adaptations to local environment. In the study we compared lizards from natural and urban habitat, which had different coverage and density of vegetation and different inclination of ground. We described morphometric characteristics and locomotor performance for both sexes from both habitats and found out weather there are differences among them. We measured six morphometric parameters and in laboratory experiment we have measured the fastest sprint speed on horizontal and vertical surface.We assumed that lizards from natural habitat, where vegetation is scarce and ground is steeper will have longer limbs and will perform faster maximum speed than lizards from urban habitat where vegetation is more dense and ground mostly flat. On the contrary, we have found that urban lizards had longer hind limbs and acquire higher maximum sprint speed on flat and sloped surface than lizards from natural habitat. We have also found that there were differencies between sexes with males having longer hind libms and bigger heads. Only in lizards from natural habitat, females also had longer trunks than males

Data used to create plots and perform all analysis

The data package includes the data used to create plots and perform all analysis as detaled in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. We have examined the intra- and interspecific variation in functional morphology and whole-organism performance in a sympatric lizard species pair

Data from: Towards a functional understanding of species coexistence: ecomorphological variation in relation to whole-organism performance in two sympatric lizards

1. We examined intra- and interspecific variation in functional morphology and whole-organism performance in a sympatric lizard species pair, Iberolacerta horvathi and Podarcis muralis, in the area with a high potential for competition. 2. The biggest variation between species was found in two functional traits, bite force and climbing speed, linked with corresponding morphological traits. 3. The species with larger and taller heads, P. muralis, exhibited correspondingly stronger bite forces. The other species exhibited smaller and flatter head. Both traits may potentially promote segregation between species in trophic niche (stronger bites relate to harder prey) and in refuge use (flatter heads allow using narrower crevices, hence, influencing escaping from common predators). Stronger bites and larger heads also provide one species with a dominant position in interspecific agonistic interactions. 4. Females had longer trunks that impacted negatively on climbing speed, which may lower anti-predator escape abilities of the more trunk-dimorphic species, but positively influence reproductive effort. 5. Our results exemplify how the joint examination of morphological and functional traits of ecologically similar and sympatric species can provide a mechanistic background for understanding their coexistence, namely syntopic populations that are frequent in the study area. 6. The identified roles of functional morphology in this system of sympatric rock lizards support the contribution of functional diversification for the complexity of community structure via coexistence