Scientists are worried about an unexpected drop in the number of nests by the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle this year. Leer más.
Tagging doesn’t work on green turtles (Chelonia mydas) – they are just too small, says Nathan Putman of Oregon State University in Corvallis. “Any tags you put on them would sink them.” To figure out where they go, Putman teamed up with geneticist Eugenia Naro-Maciel of the City University of New York. They used a model of ocean circulation to estimate where the young turtles would be carried from natal beaches in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian oceans. They also compared the genetic make-up of baby turtles at those beaches with adult turtles at foraging grounds. By combining the two methods, they were able to produce maps showing where turtles go after hatching. Leer más.
The territory of Croatia is inhabited by two species of freshwater turtles. Unlike the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) which is widespread throughout the country, the Balkan Terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) is one of the most endangered reptile species in Croatia. It is present only in the country’s far south which is the most northern and most western part of the species range. Leer más.
The Olm (Proteus anguinus) is endemic to subterranean freshwater habitats of the Dinaric Karst. It is the only cave-adapted vertebrate and it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. The Olm has adapted to living in total darkness and can survive for up to 10 years without food. The Croatian Herpetological Society – Hyla and the Croatian Institute for Biodiversity are working on Olm conservation within the PROTEUS project. Leer más.
The Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii) is the smallest European viper that has fragmented and isolated distribution through Europe. Its venom is not harmful to humans since it eats crickets and grasshoppers. The Croatian Herpetological Society – Hyla is working on the conservation of its subspecies, the Karst Viper (V.u. macrops), a Balkan endemic species that inhabits high mountain grasslands of the Dinaric Arc. Leer más.
