Habitat preferences of European green lizard Lacerta viridis (Laurenti 1768) in a protected area, Romania

Authors

  • Eliana SEVIANU Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. *Corresponding author: eliana.sevianu@ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7208-3878
  • Mădălina PETRIȘOR Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Cristian-Valeriu MALOȘ Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7698-1314
  • Tibor HARTEL Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0469-8923

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbbiol.2022.1.09

Keywords:

afforestation, nature protected areas, habitat alteration

Abstract

Anthropic induced changes in land use modify the habitat and microhabitat conditions for many species. Afforestation and grazing abandonment in steppe-like grasslands alters the characteristics of open natural areas. We aim to understand the habitat preferences of the European Green lizard in a nature reserve affected by both processes, using CORINE land cover and data recorded in the field. The results show that the species prefers sparsely shrubbed areas and edge habitat but avoids the interior of the pine plantation and totally open grassland. On microhabitat scale, most preferred structures were shrubs and logs. CORINE Landover data yields statistically less robust information than the microhabitat features recorded in the field Management measures should aim to increase habitat heterogeneity and to decrease compact afforested areas.

Article history: Received: 1 April 2022; Revised: 29 May 2022; Accepted: 11 June 2022; Available online: 30 June 2022.

References

Amo, L., López, P., & Martín, J. (2007). Natural oak forest vs. ancient pine plantations: Lizard microhabitat use may explain the effects of ancient reforestations on distribution and conservation of Iberian lizards. Biodiversity and Conservation, 16, 3409–3422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9003-3

Baciu, N., Stănescu, C., Muntean, O.-L., Mihăiescu, R., & Mihăiescu, T. (2010). Geo-systems and types of geo-facets in the Transylvanian Plain-tools for defining cultural landscapes. Present Environment and Sustainable Development, 4, 255–261.

Cao, S., Tian, T., Chen, L., Dong, X., Yu, X., & Wang, G. (2010). Damage Caused to the Environment by Reforestation Policies in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas of China. AMBIO, 39, 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0038-z

Cifuentes-Croquevielle, C., Stanton, D. E., & Armesto, J. J. (2020). Soil invertebrate diversity loss and functional changes in temperate forest soils replaced by exotic pine plantations. Scientific Reports, 10(7762), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64453-y

Cogălniceanu, D., Rozylowicz, L., Székely, P., Samoilă, C., Stănescu, F., Tudor, M., Székely, D., & Iosif, R. (2013). Diversity and distribution of reptiles in Romania. ZooKeys, 341, 49–76. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.341.5502

Corley, J., Dimarco, R., Fischbein, D., Lantschner, M., Martínez, A., Masciocchi, M., Mattiacci, A., Paritsis, J. & Villacide, J. (2018). A synthesis on the impact of non-native conifer plantations on ant and beetle diversity in north-western Patagonia, Southern Forests: a journal of Forest Science, 80(4), 285-291. DOI:10.2989/20702620.2018.1432536

Covaciu-Marcov, S.-D., Cicort-Lucaciu, A.-Ștefan, Dobre, F., Ferenți, S., Birceanu, M., Mihuț, R., & Strugariu, A. (2009). The herpetofauna of the Jiului Gorge National Park, Romania. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 5(1), 501–578.

Covaciu-Marcov, S.-D., Ghira, I., Cicort-Lucaciu, A.-Ş., Sas, I., Strugariu, A., & Bogdan, H. (2006). Contributions to knowledge regarding the geographical distribution of the herpetofauna of Dobrudja, Romania. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 2(2), 88–125.

Cremene, C., Groza, G., Rakosy, L., Schileyko, A. A., Baur, A., Erhardt, A., & Baur, B. (2005). Alterations of steppe-like grasslands in Eastern Europe: A threat to regional biodiversity hotspots. Conservation Biology, 19(5), 1606–1618. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1523-1739.2005.00084.X

Crnobrnja-Isailović, J., Vogrin, M., Corti, C., Mellado, V. P., Sá-Sousa, P., Cheylan, M., Pleguezuelos, J., Nettmann, H.K., Sterijovski, B., Lymberakis, P., Podloucky, R., Cogalniceanu, D., & Avci, A. (2009). Lacerta viridis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species e.T61530A12507156. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61530A12507156.en

Díaz, J. A. (1997). Ecological correlates of the thermal quality of an ectotherm’s habitat: A comparison between two temperate lizard populations. Functional Ecology, 11(1), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.1997.00058.x

Doherty, T. S., Balouch, S., Bell, K., Burns, T. J., Feldman, A., Fist, C., Garvey, T. F., Jessop, T. S., Meiri, S., & Driscoll, D. A. (2020). Reptile responses to anthropogenic habitat modification: A global meta-analysis. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(7), 1265–1279. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13091

Feurdean, A., Marinova, E., Nielsen, A. B., Liakka, J., Veres, D., Hutchinson, S. M., Braun, M., Timar-Gabor, A., Astalos, C., Mosburgger, V., & Hickler, T. (2015). Origin of the forest steppe and exceptional grassland diversity in Transylvania (central-eastern Europe). Journal of Biogeography, 42(5), 951–963. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12468

Fitzgerald, L. A., Walkup, D., Chyn, K., Buchholtz, E., Angeli, N., & Parker, M. (2017). The future for reptiles: Advances and challenges in the anthropocene. Encycl. Anthropocene 3, 163–174. Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809665-9.10291-5

Fuhn, I. E., & Vancea, Ş. (1961). Fauna Republicii Populare Romîne, Vol XIV, fascicula 2, Reptilia (in Romanian). Ed. Acad. R.P.R., Bucureşti, 352 pp.

Gibbons, J. W., Scott, D. E., Ryan, T. J., Buhlmann, K. A., Tuberville, T. D., Metts, B. S., Greene, J. L., Mills, T., Leiden, Y., Poppy, S., & Winne, C. T. (2000). The Global Decline of Reptiles, Déjà Vu Amphibians. BioScience, 50(8), 653-666. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2

Heltai, B., Sály, P., Kovács, D., & Kiss, I. (2015). Niche segregation of sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) and green lizard (Lacerta viridis) in an urban semi-natural habitat. Amphibia Reptilia, 36(4), 389–399. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-00003018

Huey, R. B. (1974). Behavioral thermoregulation in lizards: Importance of associated costs. Science, 184(4140), 1001–1003. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.184.4140.1001

Jofré, G. M., Warn, M. R., & Reading, C. J. (2016). The role of managed coniferous forest in the conservation of reptiles. Forest Ecology and Management, 362, 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.044

Luppi, M., Gentilli, A., & Bogliani, G. (2020). Microhabitat selection of the Western green lizard Lacerta bilineata. Natural History Sciences. Atti Soc. It. Sci. Nat. Museo Civ. Stor. Nat. Milano, 7(2), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2020.451

Maier, A.-R.-M., Cadar., A.-M., & Covaciu-Marcov, S.-D. (2020). Last meal: food composition of road-killed Lacerta viridis (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Romania. Stud. Univ. Babeş-Bolyai Biologia, 65(1), 49-60. doi:10.24193/subbbiol.2020.1.05

Mollov, I., Boyadzhiev, P., & Donev, A. (2012). Trophic Niche Breadth and Niche Overlap Between Two Lacertid Lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from South Bulgaria. Acta Zool Bulgar, Suppl. 4, 133-140

Nowakowski, A. J., Watling, J. I., Thompson, M. E., Brusch, G. A., Catenazzi, A., Whitfield, S. M., Kurz, D. J., Suárez-Mayorga, Á., Aponte-Gutiérrez, A., Donnelly, M. A., & Todd, B. D. (2018). Thermal biology mediates responses of amphibians and reptiles to habitat modification. Ecology Letters, 21(3), 345–355. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12901

Oprea, V., Blaga, Gh., Păcurar, I. & Kovacs, E. (2009). The Ecological Reconstruction of the Degraded Terrains from the Transylvanian Hill area through the Cultivation of the Silvo-Ameliorative Shrubs. Bulletin UASVM Agriculture, 66 (1), 576-579.

O.U.G. 57/2007. Ordonanţa de urgenţă nr. 57/2007 privind regimul ariilor naturale protejate, conservarea habitatelor naturale, a florei şi faunei sălbatice (Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2007 on the regime of protected natural areas, conservation of natural habitats, wild flora and fauna). Bucharest. [In Romanian]

Pellet, J., & Schmidt, B. R. (2005). Monitoring distributions using call surveys: estimating site occupancy, detection probabilities and inferring absence. Biological Conservation, 123(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIOCON.2004.10.005

Prieto-Ramirez, A. M., Pe’er, G., Rödder, D., & Henle, K. (2018). Realized niche and microhabitat selection of the eastern green lizard (Lacerta viridis) at the core and periphery of its distribution range. Ecology and Evolution, 8(22), 11322–11336. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4612

Prieto-Ramirez, A. M., Röhler, L., Cord, A. F., Pe’er, G., Rödder, D., & Henle, K. (2020a). Differential effects of habitat loss on occupancy patterns of the eastern green lizard Lacerta viridis at the core and periphery of its distribution range. PLoS ONE, 15(3), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0229600

Rákosy, L., & Kovacs, S. Eds. (2001). The Nature Reserve "Butterfly hill" in Viișoara. Societatea Lepidopterologică Romana, Cluj-Napoca, Romania (in Romanian). 138 pp.

Rehák, I. (2015). Protecting and managing a local population of the European Green lizard Lacerta viridis at the Prague Zoo, Czech Republic. Int. Zoo Yb. 49: 56–66 DOI:10.1111/izy.12093

Resmeriţă, I., Csűrös, I. & Spîrchez, Z. (1968). Vegetaţia, ecologia şi potenţialul productiv pe versanţii din Podişul Transilvaniei (Vegetation, ecology and production potential on hillslopes of the Transylvanian Basin) [in Romanian]. Ed. Academiei R.S.R., Bucureşti, Romania, 206 pp.

Ruprecht, E., Szabó, A., Enyedi, M. & Dengeler, J. (2009). Steppe-like grasslands in Transylvania (Romania): characterisation and influence of management on species diversity and composition. Tuexenia 29: 353–368.

Vassallo, M. M., Dieguez, H. D., Garbulsky, M. F., Jobbágy, E. G., & Paruelo, J. M. (2013). Grassland afforestation impact on primary productivity: A remote sensing approach. Applied Vegetation Science, 16(3), 390–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12016

Walker, S., Wilson, D. J., Norbury, G., Monks, A., & Tanentzap, A. J. (2014). Effects of secondary shrublands on bird, lizard and invertebrate faunas in a dryland landscape. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 38(2), 242-256.

Downloads

Published

2022-06-30

How to Cite

SEVIANU, E., PETRIȘOR, M., MALOȘ, C.-V., & HARTEL, T. (2022). Habitat preferences of European green lizard Lacerta viridis (Laurenti 1768) in a protected area, Romania. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Biologia, 67(1), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbbiol.2022.1.09

Issue

Section

Articles