Alexandre Boissinot; Pierre Grillet; Aurélien Besnard and Olivier Lourdais. Amphibia-Reptilia, december 2015. We studied common frog occurrence and abundance in western central France ( Deux-Sèvresdepartment) close to the southern margin of lowland distribution. Our results pointed out that the proportion of woods surface around sampled areas (1 ha) was a critical determinant of common frog presence and abundance. Extensive farming, which maintains a mosaic of small woods, may provide a robust conservation tool for this species. Leer más.
Andrés Egea-Serrano. Amphibia-Reptilia, december 2015. There was only a single interaction among the three factors: higher temperature exacerbated density-dependence in growth rate. These results illustrate that climate warming may benefit temperate amphibians, although the benefits may be counteracted by enhanced larval crowding. Leer más.
Gomes V, Carretero MA, Kaliontzopoulou A (2016) The relevance of morphology for habitat use and locomotion in two species of wall lizards. Acta Oecologica 70:87–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2015.12.005
Understanding if morphological differences between organisms that occupy different environments are associated to differences in functional performance can suggest a functional link between environmental and morphological variation. In this study we examined three components of the ecomorphological paradigm – morphology, locomotor performance and habitat use – using two syntopic wall lizards endemic to the Iberian Peninsula as a case study to establish whether morphological variation is associated with habitat use and determine the potential relevance of locomotor performance for such an association. Differences in habitat use between both lizards matched patterns of morphological variation. Indeed, individuals of Podarcis guadarramae lusitanicus, which are more flattened, used more rocky environments, whereas Podarcis bocagei, which have higher heads, used more vegetation than rocks. These patterns translated into a significant association between morphology and habitat use. Nevertheless, the two species were only differentiated in some of the functional traits quantified, and locomotor performance did not exhibit an association with morphological traits. Our results suggest that the link between morphology and habitat use is mediated by refuge use, rather than locomotor performance, in this system, and advise caution when extrapolating morphology-performance-environment associations across organisms.
Khaled Merabet; Eugenia Sanchez; Abdelhak Dahmana; Sergé Bogaerts; David Donaire; Sebastian Steinfartz; Ulrich Joger; Miguel Vences; Mokrane Karar and Aissa Moali. Amphibia-Reptilia, december 2015. The mtDNA sequences of the Algerian samples were strongly different from the Moroccan populations occurring west of the Moulouya River (corresponding to the subspecies S. a. tingitana and S. a. splendens) but sister to the genetically rather similar population from the Beni Snassen Massif in eastern Morocco (subspecies S. algira spelaea). Leer más.
Agentes Medioambientales han confirmado la reproducción de esta especie en Sierra Espuña, tras la localización de cinco ejemplares en avanzado estado de desarrollo, en una fuente que cuenta con una alberca tradicional accesoria. Su presencia refuerza la importancia de este espacio natural como una de las zonas con mayor diversidad de anfibios del sureste ibérico. El libro rojo de los vertebrados lo cataloga como especie vulnerable. Leer más.
