Morphological characterization of the blood cells in the endangered Sicilian endemic pond turtle,Emys trinacris(Testudines: Emydidae)

In this study, measurements of morphological parameters, sizes and frequencies of peripheral blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes) on blood smear preparation devices stained with May-Grünwald stain were evaluated for both sexes in 20 Emys trinacris (Testudines: Emydidae) specimens. Erythrocytes were higher in male than in female specimens. The leukocyte of E. trinacris contains eosinophil, basophil, monocyte, heterophil and lymphocyte. The eosinophil was higher in males than in females whereas lymphocytes were higher in females than in males. The erythrocyte morphological parameters (EL [erythrocyte length], EW [erythrocyte width], L/W [length/width], ES [erythrocyte size]) were compared with the same data from Emys orbicularis s.l, and from species belonging to other chelonian genera. The erythrocyte size did not vary within the studied Palearctic Emys taxa, whereas it proved to differ from that observed in other chelonians

Combining N-mixture models with ecological niche modeling supplies a low-cost and fast procedure for estimating population size in remote areas

Monitoring population changes and trends is a central task in conservation. However, obtaining detailed information for wide and low accessible areas, such as remote islands, is challenging, and cannot be achieved with conventional approaches, such as capture-mark-recapture protocols (CMR). In this paper, we show that combining N-mixture models with ecological niche modeling allows assessing reliable estimates of population size over large target areas on short time intervals. We used it to estimate the population size of a subspecies of the Italian wall lizards (Podarcis siculus calabresiae) endemic to the Island of Montecristo (10.39 km(2) in surface). During a single week, we first generated a niche model of the species based on satellite images sampled few days before sampling. Then, we estimated lizard abundance through Bayesian N-mixture models on repeated counts (n=3) along transects (n=6), settled in different areas of habitat suitability defined on the basis of the niche model. Finally, we estimated in approximately 20.000 the total number of lizards living in the Island by extrapolating the values computed on transects to the areas of the islands with the same suitability estimated by the niche model. The procedure can be easily repeated allowing monitoring the status of conservation of the species in the island of Montecristo. More in general, this procedure has the potential to be applied to monitor any other species of conservation interest in remote areas whenever detailed satellite images are available.[GRAPHICS]

Opportunistic datasets perform poorly in Ecological Niche Modelling: a case study from a polymorphic lizard

Context. Among processes involved in colour polymorphism, geographic variation in morph composition and frequency has been attracting interest since it reflects morph local adaptation. A recent study in the Pyrenees associated the pattern of geographic variation in morph frequency of the common wall lizard with the divergence in climatic niches, supporting the hypothesis that morphs represent alternative local climatic adaptations. However, the Pyrenees represent only a small portion of the species range. Aims. We modelled the ecological niches of Italian morphs using the same procedure adopted for the Pyrenees to check whether the effects detected at local scales (i.e. the Pyrenees) were repeatable at regional scales (i.e. Italy). This generalisation is needed to investigate how natural selection maintains locally adapted polymorphisms. Methods. We classified each locality (120 populations) according to the presence/absence of morphs, and independent Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) against the same background were fitted. Receiver Operating Curves accounting for sampling biases, equivalency and similarity tests were used to check and compare models accounting for spatial distribution of data. Key results. Morph-specific ENMs did not reproduce any of the patterns detected in the Pyrenees. Any difference among morphs disappeared after controlling for morph spatial distribution. Since occurrence points of the rarest morphs were a subsample of the occurrence points of the most common morph, it is not possible to separate the effects of true ecological differences among morphs from the effects of the spatial distribution patterns of morph occurrence. Conclusions. Using presence data not specifically collected for ENM comparisons does not allow reliable assessments of morph niche segregation. Our analysis points out the need to be very cautious in ecological interpretations of ENMs built on presence/background or presence-only data when occurrences are spatially nested

Molecular phylogeography of the asp viper Vipera aspis (Linnaeus 1758) in Italy: evidence for introgressive hybridization and mitochondrial DNA capture

.The occurrence of variation in body size and reproductive traits of Vipera aspis was assessed by analysing 74 reproductive females of different populations, collected throughout a large part of the distribution range of the taxon, from central-western France to central Italy. Six populations were analysed, two of plain habitats, in France and Italy, characterized by a Continental climate, whereas the other four derived from two coastal and two inland, hilly Italian habitats, respectively, showing a Mediterranean climate. Females of the French area showed the smallest mean body size, whereas the pre-and post-partum body masses of females from the coolest, central Italic area were significantly higher. Litter size varied among habitats and was significantly correlated with maternal body size. If the snout–vent length feature varied largely among offspring of different habitats (with the longest size occurring in representatives of the coastal, central Italian area), the average of both body mass and total mass of offsprings did not exhibit any clear pattern among populations colonizing different habitats. Nevertheless, relative litter mass was higher in the French continental populations, and lower in the coolest, Mediterranean, Italian ones. It is worth emphasizing the positive correlation between the snout–vent length feature of females and the total litter mass to environmental factors, such as hottest month temperature and total rainfall. The available literature records that female body size affects offspring size and fecundity. If the present study bolsters this correlation, it also rules out any other effect of female body size on the offspring characteristics analysed. Finally, evidence is provided for the role of climatic factors on life-history traits (e.g. pre-partum body mass) of asp vipers, although confounding effects pursued, for example, by food availability may occur

Blood cell morphology of the Moorish gecko, Tarentola mauritanica

The morphology of erythrocytes, trombocytes, monocytes, basophils and lymphocytes on Moorish geckos (Tarentola mauritanica) is quite similar to that of other reptiles, even though some peculiarities were detected for heterophils and eosinophils. Moreover, we found a fourth type of granulocyte whose morphology highly differs from both heterophils and eosinophils. Sexually-based differences in the relative abundance of different types of leukocytes was detected: lymphocytes were the most frequent in females, while heterophils and eosinophils prevailed in males. Interestingly, in most individuals we found intra-erythrocytic vacuoles whose structure is similar to that previously described as Chelonoplasma in tortoises and Serpentoplasma in snakes

First microsatellite loci for spectacled salamanders (Salamandrina perspicillata and S. terdigitata) endemic to the Apennine peninsula

Hauswaldt JS, Polok A, Angelini C, Steinfartz S. First microsatellite loci for spectacled salamanders (Salamandrina perspicillata and S. terdigitata) endemic to the Apennine peninsula. Conservation Genetics Resources. 2012;4(2):399-402.We describe ten microsatellite loci isolated for the oldest lineage of extant salamandrids, the spectacled salamanders (Salamandrina), a genus of terrestrial salamanders endemic to the Apennine peninsula (Italy). Primers were tested in 24 individuals per species, the northern species (Salamandrina perspicillata) and the southern species (Salamandrina terdigitata). All loci were polymorphic in S. perspicillata with number of alleles ranging from three to eleven and observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.25 to 0.83. In S. terdigitata eight loci were polymorphic, the number of alleles ranged from two to nine, and observed heterozygosity from 0.04 to 0.92