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Another good example of how to organize citizen participation activities

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BUSINESS PLAN: A Local Voluntary Organisation

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BUSINESS PLAN: A Local Voluntary Organisation

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We would like people who are committed to preserving our beautiful natural environment. These people are extremely important to our organisation. Being part of an herpetological volunteer group can also bring a range of benefits to people:

Learning more about the environment

Developing a sense of community and belonging

Strengthening community partnerships

Making like-minded friends

Having lots of fun

GOALS
Form local groups throughout the protection area of Sierra Nevada (natural and national park), with people who assume the responsibility of carrying out study, protection and conservation of the herpetofauna and their environmental needs.

CREATE AN INVOLVING VOLUNTEERS PLAN

Attempt to develop a volunteer policy with written procedures.

If the group is small, it is a good idea to document a volunteer participation plan.

If the organization grows in participants, it is better to follow an organizational policy. And work our plan out with our organisation’s entire leadership team.

The logistics of involving a volunteer are as important as the role itself. We need to work out where the volunteer will be based and what they’ll need to complete their work.

Outlining the minimum commitment we would like gives potential volunteer: ongoing weekly task or a one-off, time-limited piece of work.

Consider their expectations and name to a coordinator who volunteers can approach for support or direction.

Give the volunteers information on what expenses will be reimbursed.

Ensure individual safety has been addressed. And includes other people who may be indirectly involved, such as walkers, bike riders and other public space users.

STARTING AN ENVIRONMENT GROUP

Design what kind of tasks they can develop based on their skills and knowledge about herpetofauna and the environment.

Organise the management of our local reserves of amphibians and reptiles.

How to make the conservation and restoration of  special and endangered habitat.

Do a list of types of tasks in winter (removal of scrub and keeping the habitat in good condition) and in summer (guided walks, construction, habitat work and surveying).

PRACTICAL TASKS
- In the spring and summer months to carry out surveying and monitoring of reptiles and amphibians on our reserves, and record sightings.
- Provide to volunteers training on how to identify some of the species found on site, usually at the start of the survey season.
- Teach them how to manage the data that gets. Data are vital for local records and on a national scale.
- Fill into national recording schemes with APPs or specialized webs to build up a wider picture of what is happening to our herpetofauna.

DIVULGATION EVENTS
Awareness raising and educating the public about amphibians, reptiles and their disappearing habitats is a vital part of our work.

Design of information sheets about fauna, animated, to launch social networks, blogs, websites, etc.

Network of contacts. Contact tourist companies that operate in the area of action and establish with them an information exchange network (what we do, what they do).

Inventory of species present in the area with citizen participation: upload photos of herpetofauna sightings to our website or blog and help in the determination of amphibian and reptile censuses (i.e. "Observatory of citizens"). Incorporate to website: Virtual Biodiversity https://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/taxofoto/sites/default/files/no_27_2017-01-03_al_natural_sierra_nevada_granada.pdf

Training courses and workshops for the local population.

Outreach initiatives in schools around the area.

Prepare periodic news bulletins and / or press releases (newsletter).

Collaboration with other associations for the protection of the fauna and flora of the Sierra Nevada. Try collaborations with the Andalusian government and associations with greater national recognition such as SEO-Birdlife, WWF, Ecologists in Action, Greenpeace, Spanish Society of Herpetology (SIARE), etc.

Citizen participation working on the recovery of some ponds and the planting of native vegetation in the area of Jerez de la Frontera.
Source: www.ecoherencia.es

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Here is an extraordinary work about the amphibians of Madrid: "Project for Amphibian Conservation and Environmental Education of the Community of Madrid - Sapo Project S.O.S.-" developed by the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Planning Territory of the Community of Madrid together with the National Museum of Natural Sciences-CSIC.
This nice field notebook was used for several years as didactic resource in environmental education for the conservation of
amphibians with all the activities carried out in the centers
participating students, both inside and outside the classroom.

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Poster design about threats to amphibians and their habitat. This poster was used in several workshops with children and was hung in the corridors of several schools in Madrid.
Author: Alfonso Nombela for National Museum of Natural Science of Madrid

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Example of a poster announcing a practical course on the recovery of habitats for anifbios among university students at the University of Jaén. Approximately 50 volunteers were required (and they were achieved!)

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HABITAT LOSS, DEGRADATION AND FRAGMENTATION IN DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK

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HABITAT LOSS, DEGRADATION AND FRAGMENTATION IN DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK

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Doñana is considered one of the most important natural protected areas in Europe. A key crossroads for migratory bird routes between Africa and Europe, it is also the last refuge for many endangered species.
Doñana and Sierra Nevada make up the two large protected areas of the southern region of Spain, Andalucia.

Ecological context
The spectacular landscape of its flat plains is shaped by two primary ecosystems: pine forests and Mediterranean shrubs that grow in mostly sandy soil, and vast clay-lined marshes, subject to a highly seasonal water cycle.

The Guadalquivir River and the Atlantic Ocean shaped the old bay located at the mouth of the river and created the region known today as Doñana. The sediments carried by the river and the sands pushed inland by the sea currents and winds filled the shallow waters of the bay to build a territory made of sands and clays.

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In Doñana live and reproduce 11 species of amphibians and 24 of reptiles, including an invasive, among which are nine Iberian endemisms.

Amphibians
Pleurodeles waltl
Triturus pygmaeus (endemism)
Lissotriton boscai (endemism)
Hyla meridionalis
Pelophylax perezi
Epidalea calamita
Pelobates cultripes
Bufo spinosus
Alytes cisternasii (endemism)
Discoglossus galganoi
Pelodytes ibericus (endemism)

Reptiles
Emys orbicularis
Mauremys leprosa
Testudo graeca
Blanus cinereus (endemism)
Chalcides bedriagaii (endemism)
Chalcides striatus
Tarentola mauritanica
Acanthodactylus erythrurus
Timon lepidus
Podarcis carbonelli (endemism)
Podarcis vaucheri
Psammodromus manuelae
Psammodromus hispanicus
Hemorrhois hippocrepis
Rhinechis scalaris
Coronella girondica
Malpolon monspessulanus
Macroprotodon brevis
Natrix maura
Natrix natrix
Vipera latasti
Caretta caretta
Dermochelys coriacea

In addition, five species of sea turtles visit the Doñana coasts: Caretta caretta and Dermochelys coriacea,
both common in this coast; Chelonia mydas, more sparse, and Lepidochelys kempii and Eretmochelys imbricata, with very few citations in the area. Due to all this, Doñana is considered one of the richest areas in herpetos of the Iberian Peninsula. At a global level, the amphibian and reptile communities have suffered important declines during the last decades.

Ocellated lizard, Timon lepidus.
Picture: www.discoveringdonana.com

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Doñana, a World Heritage Site and one of the most important wetlands in the world, is surrounded by the theft of water that constitutes its greatest threat. This inaction on the part of the government of the country has cost to him that the European Commission takes to Spain until the Court of Justice. However, other dangers jeopardize the future of this wetland:

Overexploitation of the aquifer. The aquifer is in a worse state than during the great drought of 1995: more than 80% of the sectors are in a similar or worse situation than 24 years ago.

The dredging of the Guadalquivir. This pharaonic project was annulled by the Supreme Court, and motivated an infringement process in Brussels for the violation of the European laws of nature protection. However, years after its approval, the Plan is still not fully implemented, while the irrigated area continues to grow.

Gas storage in Doñana. Although Spain has transmitted to UNESCO its intention to cancel it, it has not been formally annulled.

The highway between Huelva and Cádiz. This project aims to unfold a small current road that borders the natural park to the north and build a new and complex bridge over the Guadalquivir.

The water transfer. A new law that increases the amount of water that can be transferred to Doñana from 4.99 to 19.99 Hm3. A large number of illegal farms are operating without control within the protected area.

Mining projects that discharge wastewater to the Tinto and Odiel river, and the possible reopening of the Aznalcóllar mine that could affect the Community Interest Site (SCI) of the Guadiamar River; river that supposes the greater contribution of superficial water to Doñana.

The fire that occurred in the summer of 2017 burned 16 important habitats, three of which are priority areas: coastal dunes, temporary ponds and heaths. Among the main victims: forest birds, reptiles and amphibians unable to flee and exclusive plant varieties.

Picture: diario16.com

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Biological indicators are an essential part of monitoring programs on the state of biodiversity and habitats. The bioindicator species should be, in general, abundant, very sensitive to the livelihood, easy and quick to identify, well studied in their ecology and biological cycle, and with little mobility.

- The Observatory of Biodiversity and Global Change of Doñana:
http://icts.ebd.csic.es/global-change-observatory

Spatial distribution of species richness for European squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards). Number of species per half-degree of latitude indicated by diameter of circles around points spaced one degree apart. More information: www.researchgate.net/publication/275517735_Ecological_Effects_of_Climate_Change_on_European_Reptiles

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Global Actions

To promote accelerated research on amphibian ecological situations.

More summits, congresses, seminars, etc. on conservation, to create and coordinate global theoretical-practical action plans.

Develop improvements in their natural habitats, with the creation of networks of spaces, the protection of water masses and associated terrestrial landscapes, managing the streams, ponds and rivers by the local population.

To act outside their habitat (laboratories, colonies, amphibian coffers, etc.), where it is possible to control threats such as the chytrid fungus.

Greater protection of the natural areas and those spaces where they develop their life cycles, with strict and punitive regulations for the amphibian trade.

Exclude amphibians from lists of species that can be captured or harvested at the state level, by law and permanently.

Educational programs for the majority of the population, in which the problem is exposed and the possible solutions are shown with the involvement of the local population.

Indivual Actions

Do not eat them and oppose them being eaten;

Do not contaminate waters with waste or chemical products;

Do not run over them;

Do not deteriorate their habitat, etc.

Active protection actions: creation of pools for amphibians, putting signals to warn drivers, maintain wetlands, inform the authorities of the infractions we observe, etc.

Monitoring of amphibians and reptiles in Doñana
The Natural Resources and Process Monitoring Program of Doñana (PSD) was designed in response to the need of the managers of the protected area:
http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/122850/1/pruebas%20imprenta%20Donana.pdf

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PHYSIOLOGY AND ADAPTATION OF AN AMPHIBIAN: Alytes dickhilleni (betic midwife toad

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PHYSIOLOGY AND ADAPTATION OF AN AMPHIBIAN: Alytes dickhilleni (betic midwife toad

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It represents an authentic jewel of the rich biodiversity that treasures the Iberian Peninsula.

It is a small amphibian (between 4 and 6cm in length), plump in appearance, large head and short and pointed snout. The eyes are large with dark vertical pupils, on a background of copper-colored irises. The eardrum, rounded, is clearly visible, located behind the eyes.
The skin is permeable, it has mocous glands and the coloration is variable, it is frequent that the background color is grayish and even dirty white, on which appear a series of irregular greenish spots. The belly area is usually white. On the body appear not very large granulations and does not have warts like other toads. A characteristic that differentiates it from the other 2 species of midwife toads present in the peninsula (common midwife toad and Iberian midwife toad), is that it never has red or orange dorsal tubercles.
The females are stiffer and have the head and hind legs proportionally smaller than the males.

Anurans reproduce by external fertilisation. Males of this species carry the eggs on their backs for approximately 1 month.
The tadpoles reach a considerable size, up to 6 or 7 cm, the result of a very prolonged larval development. They are robust and are characterized by having the blowhole (small opening where they expel water from food and breathing) in the ventral area. The tail is long and thick ending in a rounded tip. The ridge is low and is born at the end of the back.

Recent scientific studies have determined that the Betic midwife toad and the Balearic toad are close relatives, from the genetic point of view. Therefore, it is a Betic endemism (it is not found outside this mountainous system) that is distributed by a series of mountain ranges within the area of this herpetoArea. It can be found from areas with low altitude, about 300 meters to others that exceed 2000 meters.

Its existence is conditioned by the presence of clean and permanent water points to those who come to deposit their eggs. It is found in olive growing areas as well as in pine forests, holm oaks and high mountain pasture areas.

Picture: Javier Fuentes

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Eco–geographical characterization of aquatic microhabitats used by amphibians in the Mediterranean Basin

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PHYSIOLOGY AND ADAPTATION OF A REPTILE: Chalcides bedriagai (iberian skink)

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PHYSIOLOGY AND ADAPTATION OF A REPTILE: Chalcides bedriagai (iberian skink)

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Species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, it is found for most of this except the extreme north. Most of its distribution area is within the Mediterranean bioclimatic region.

Species of small size, with a head-body length of up to 87.5 mm in males and 97.8 mm in females. Small, triangular head, later widened with a rounded snout. Eyes with mobile eyelids, his pupils are circular black and yellowish iris. Clearly visible ear, may be larger than the nasal orifice. Short and thick body of rounded or quadrangular section, covered with smooth scales (pholidotic patterns) and
bright, from 22 to 30 longitudinal series of scales around the body in its central part and from 66 to 84 ventral scales from the snout to the cloaca, there are no significant differences between males and females. Small pentadactyl limbs.
The coloration varies according to the different populations, usually yellowish brown or olive, the back has a darker vertebral band, the sides have wide and dark bands, separated from the vertebral by a line of lighter color.
To date, the existence of 3 subspecies of Iberian skink is accepted:

Chalcides bedriagaia cobosi

Chalcides bedriagai bedriagai

Chalcides bedriagai pistaciae

It is based on the number of scales counted in the middle of the body, the relation between the size of the ear and the nasal orifice, the length of the anterior legs and other specific characteristics related to the design and coloring of the body.

The only species with which we could confuse a specimen of Iberian skink in our environment, would be the tridactyl skink. The size of the latter is significantly greater, with the body more elongated and with shorter legs.

The Iberian skink has a wide altitudinal range, from sea level to more than 2,000 meters above sea level in the Sierra Nevada and other mountainous massifs of the southeast.

As for the orientation, logically the more to the north and at higher altitude it prefers sunny orientations. Coastal sandbanks, grasslands, holm oaks and clarified pine forests, sparse Mediterranean scrub formations, shelter our skinks that take refuge among the leaves, roots and stones.

The skinks are discreet, easily go unnoticed. Despite their short limbs, they move easily and quickly, by wave movements of their body. When he makes short trips and does not feel threatened, he does use his little legs. As soon as he senses some danger, he quickly retracts them and seems to fly on sand or grass. The atrophy of the limbs of the skinks is a regressive evolutionary process by which different species of lizards were passed to become snakes.

Its activity is diurnal. First thing in the morning they look for a suitable place under the bushes where the rays of the sun reach to warm up. They take advantage of the heat accumulated in the soil and that of the stones under which they usually spend a large part of the day (Tigmothermia). Throughout the day they move from one place to another to regulate the temperature according to their needs.

When lowering the temperatures they look for a refuge in which they rest during the winter period, generally under a big stone or some orifice in the land. Both the beginning and the duration of this period, is a function of the altitude and latitude in which each population is located. In coastal and warm localities of the south and east coast, hibernation is minimal and coincides with the coldest days of the year. Therefore in these areas it is not uncommon to observe active skinks during the month of January or February, provided that the day is sunny and warm enough.

They do not have a specialized diet: insects and their larvae, arachnids, mollusks and annelids. Most of these dams are located under stones.

Ovoviviparous strategy. The development of the embryos takes place inside the egg, remaining inside the uterus of the mother, which, after the gestation period, gives birth to small offspring.

Skinks have a great advantage over predators by not needing to be exposed in clear places to warm up, they are not usually available to many animals.

Source: es.wikipedia.org

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XV Portuguese-Spanish Herpetology Congress / XIX Spanish Congress of Herpetology BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF HERPS IN THE ANTHROPOCENE

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The fossil record of a natterjack toad found in the Atapuerca field (Burgos) has given clues to predict the future of this species in the face of current climate change, according to a study done by Spanish paleoecologists.

A very diverse amphibian and reptile assemblage from the late Middle Pleistocene of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Sima del Elefante, Burgos, Northwestern Spain)

Article of Geobios review:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699511000167

Source: ResearchGate

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PHYLOGENETIC TREE OF Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita)

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PHYLOGENETIC TREE OF Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita)

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Phylogenetic trees. (A) Phylogenetic tree based on Frost et al. (Frost et al., 2006) showing the relationships between the species included in this study. Also indicated are the ecologies of each species. (B) Phylogenetic tree based on Zhang et al. (Zhang et al., 2013).

Watch out! Bufo calamita has been renamed to Epidalea calamita

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Epidalea calamita (Natterjack toad)

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Geographical Distribution of Epidalea calamita

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Geographical Distribution of Epidalea calamita

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SPANISH RESEARCHERS AT HERPETOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

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SPANISH RESEARCHERS AT HERPETOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

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Rafael Márquez Martínez de Orense
This scientific researcher of the National Museum of Natural Sciences - CSIC develops his work in the Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology. His main lines of research are:

Animal behavior

Bioacoustics

Conservation of endangered species of amphibians and reptiles

He currently directs the Zoological Archive, an archive of published recordings of sounds from more than 1586 animal species.
- Learn here about his latest publications:
https://bit.ly/2CoRuV8

- To see and hear records of sounds of Animal Sounds Library and Bioacustics Laboratory:
http://www.fonozoo.com/index_eng.php?

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Marta is the curator of the Amphibians and Reptiles collection at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC).
More info: https://bit.ly/2H20cMv

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Miguel Lizana Avia
This Ph.D in Biology is a full professor of zoology at the University of Salamanca.
Among its lines of research, highlights:

Reproductive ecology of Iberian amphibians in mountain areas, including aspects of bioacoustics and vocalizations of anurans.

Use of vertebrates as bioindicators of the quality of inland waters.

Effect of contaminants on the survival and behavior of Iberian amphibians.

Importance of the increase of UV-B radiation in the decline of amphibians in high mountain areas.

Relationship between environmental stress and the performance of fungi (Saprolegnia, Quitridios) in Iberian amphibians.

Importance of structure, contamination and conservation of aquatic environments in the decline of amphibians in agricultural areas.

- His latest publications:
http://biodiversidad.usal.es/profesorado/miguel-lizana-avia

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The Amphibian Research in Andalusia region

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The Amphibian Research in Andalusia region

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The amphibian fauna of Andalusia has the greatest wealth of endemic taxa of the Iberian Peninsula, with a total of seven species and a subspecies. Three of these taxa: the bética midwife toad, the Iberian mottled toad, apart from a subspecies of common salamander (Salamandra salamandra longirostris), have a geographical distribution practically restricted to
Andalusia. In addition, two other endemisms already with a wider distribution in the Peninsula: the Triturus pygmaeus and southern Discoglossus galganoi, also have their most abundant populations in this region. The origin of these endemic taxa can be due to several reasons, being very important the ability of our saws to serve as a "refuge" to the species during geological periods
past (5-10 Ma) and more recently during the glaciations.

Localities chosen for the acoustic monitoring of five species of Iberian anurans within the R + D + i project "Adaptations of anurans to climate changes". For each species there are two locations: "warm habitat" and "cold habitat" within its distribution area in the Iberian Peninsula.

Source: https://bit.ly/2VYKVjI

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COLLECTION OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTAILS OF  THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE (MNCN-CSIC) OF MADRID

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COLLECTION OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTAILS OF  THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE (MNCN-CSIC) OF MADRID

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The collection begins with the Royal Cabinet of Natural History founded by King Carlos III in 1771 by acquiring the Collection of Pedro Franco Dávila and joining it to others already held by the Crown.

Currently the collection of Amphibians and Reptiles of the MNCN is made up of more than 55,000 specimens of which about 35,000 are amphibians and 20,000 reptiles. Most of them belong to the Spanish fauna, both peninsular and insular, although also specimens of the European fauna are conserved, as well as significant samples of other more exotic faunas, where Spain had in past centuries, political influence, is the case of Philippines, Central and South America, Northwestern Africa or the Gulf of Guinea.

www.mncn.csic.es

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Here Marta Calvo (curator) is showing us different specimens of the collection. Azucena (on the left) is also a Biolearner!
Visit her padlet!
https://padlet.com/lm_azucena/qidyb4skwwuo

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RESEARCH CENTERS close to Sierra Nevada NP

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RESEARCH CENTERS close to Sierra Nevada NP

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The La Cortijuela Botanical Garden is a botanical and mycological garden located in a protected natural area in the district of Monachil, in an area of extremely high ecological value in the Sierra Nevada Park.
This privileged setting has a  circular route where to discover the wealth of plant life residing there.
The tour includes:
- beautiful orchids
- vegetation typical of riverbank forests among which live many species of amphibians and reptiles
- thorny plants
- Holm-oaks, oaks and wild pine trees
- exclusive species of flowering arnica
- a lookout point with excellent panoramic views

La Cortijuela Botanical Garden
Source: juntadeandalucia.es

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The Science Park is a 70,000 m² science and museum center, located a few minutes walk from the historic center of Granada. Since its inauguration, in 1995, it is the most visited museum in Andalusia. More than 7 million people already know their facilities, a figure that has consolidated it as an international reference center for scientific dissemination in southern Europe. It is open all year, from Tuesdays to Sundays and holidays, and offers activities and exhibitions for all audiences.

It contains a temporary exhibition of the Iberian herpetofauna. With almost a hundred species of amphibians and reptiles.
Through dioramas of great realism, this exhibition shows some of the most representative examples of the amphibians and reptiles of the peninsula, excellent indicators of the health of our ecosystems.

Here, more information:
http://www.parqueciencias.com/parqueciencias/exposiciones-temporales/anfibiosyreptiles.html

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MY HYPOTHESIS ABOUT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ORGANISMS

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MY HYPOTHESIS ABOUT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ORGANISMS

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Climate modification was, is and will be an important driver of the loss of biodiversity on the planet. Climate change is not only evident, but its implications on biodiversity are already evident as they represent the 4 options proposed.
The scientific community has deepened in the limitations and capacities of the species to face the changes in the climatic conditions through experimental studies (in example, the Models of Distribution of Species -MDS-).
The term "endemism" implies that they do not exist anywhere else on the planet. There may be distant cousins ​​of them elsewhere, but the endemisms are living beings of a specific place. This particular place, however, can be very small or very large. The appearance of new species from previous populations (speciation) is the adaptive response to the specific conditions of a place. Mutations along with natural selection and other environmental processes are the mechanisms of change and adaptation to that place. When we separate a population of living beings from other similar ones and subject them to different ecological phenomena, this population can adapt or become extinct. In the process of adaptation, due to the ecological pressure it suffers, the population can lead to various changes. Perhaps this change together with the displacement that some species made during the last ice age in Europe acted favorably for the development of endemisms in areas of lower latitude that had a less cold environment, such as peninsulas (Iberian, Italian and Balkian). If these less cold areas were provided with better natural resources (feeding, protection, for reproduction ...) it is probable that the existing species had wider niches during the glacial periods and more reduced during the interglacial ones. Therefore, some species could have developed an adaptive capacity, as a consequence of mechanisms of local adaptation or natural pressures, or simply be preadapted to face the novel environment, due to the expansion to an uncovered part of the niche.

Climatic distribution of the last glacial period in Europe
Source: https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/III-2/159/2016/isprs-annals-III-2-159-2016.pdf

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A terrestrial tortoise (Testudo s.l.), lizards (Lacerta s.l., Podarcis sp. and Anguis fragilis) and snakes (Natrix natrix, Natrix maura, Coronella cf. girondica and Vipera latasti) were found within Pleistocene localities of the Sierra de Atapuerca.
The landscape was probably composed of a gallery forest along a quiet water river within a Mediterranean environment alternating laterally between dry meadows, rocky or stony areas and open scrubland.

Article of Geobios review:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699511000167

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PHYLOGENETIC TREE OF Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus)

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PHYLOGENETIC TREE OF Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus)

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A molecular phylogeny of the eastern group of ocellated lizard genus Timon (Sauria: Lacertidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

Source: brill.com

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Timon lepidus (Ocellated lizard)

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Geographical Distribution of Timon lepidus

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Geographical Distribution of Timon lepidus

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It represents the natural systems linked to the middle and high Mediterranean mountain.

Amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds and a rich entomofauna (80 exclusive endemisms), make up the Sierra Nevada fauna, especially linked to the high mountain habitats.

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Sierra Nevada rises up between the provinces of Granada and Almería, in southern Spain (Andalusia region).

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Botanical and animal diversity which is a direct consequence of the geological substrata and the climate conditions. Life here is only possible with very particular biological adaptations by organisms.
Some valleys within the area act like a narrow natural corridor, bringing together other neighbouring and mutually distinctive regions.

Great variety of landscapes and the uniqueness of its natural features.

A natural site monitored and controlled because of the fragility and vulnerability of its geosystems.

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Others fossils about herpetofauna in Spain

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Others fossils about herpetofauna in Spain

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- The 'last caimans' living in Spain: https://www.agenciasinc.es/en/News/The-last-caimans-living-in-Spain

- The marine tetrapods from the late Ladinian Spanish Muschelkalk: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232937982_Fossil_reptiles_from_the_Spanish_Muschelkalk_mont-ral_and_alcover_province_Tarragona

- Field Trip Guide to the La Rioja fossil tracksites: http://www.igme.es/paleocameros/publicaciones/pdf/Moratalla&Hern%C3%A1n(2005).pdf
https://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/el_parque_jurasico_de_europa.html

Picture: paleoymas.com

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RELATIONSHIPS WITH HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND INDUSTRIAL REGIONS 

Run overs

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RELATIONSHIPS WITH HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND INDUSTRIAL REGIONS 

Run overs

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In some points of the region with concentration of troughs and large puddles of rain many amphibians are run over.
The roads that cross these zones section the habitat of these animals. Most of the puddles were on the side of the road, so amphibians coming from the other side had to cross it to get to the water.

Pictures: In The Padul Wetland, Epidalea calamita (Natterjack toad) are frequently run over at night. Each circle is a dead toad. The puddles were full of egg laying

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Some small-scale wetlands accumulate waste from surrounding intensive agricultural and industrial activities.
Herbicide bottles with the high toxicity label, plastic drums, remains of cork boxes and many irrigation gums are the usual waste.

Pictures: A group of volunteers clean the banks of the lagoons of Zafarraya, small wetlands that present the greatest diversity of amphibians in the province of Granada. Pigmy newt (Triturus pymaeus) and mediterranean tree frog (Hyla meridionalis) populate the place.

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The scarcity of rain in this region causes the drying up of natural springs and pools that are often altered by the construction of canals and the placement of pipes to irrigate nearby crops.

Picture: Alytes dickhillenii
(Betic midwife toad) reproduces both in natural channels and in artificial constructions (fountains, drinking troughs, pools), preferring cold and clean waters.  The current drought and the misuse of water does not fill the pools.

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THREE HABITATS WITH RELEVANTS AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES SPECIES

1) Pastures and lagoons of high mountain

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THREE HABITATS WITH RELEVANTS AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES SPECIES

1) Pastures and lagoons of high mountain

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They are areas above 2,800 meters of altitude. The strong ecological conditions prevent the development of woody species. The snow lasts almost 9 months a year.
There are areas with accumulation of scree, the "canchales", where there are a large number of species of endemic flora.
Other areas are the "borreguiles" of high mountain, where the soil is deeper and water can accumulate.

This system of small lagoons of glacial origin is composed of more than 50 lagoons that form very particular and most interesting ecosystems of the high mountains of Europe. The Laguna de la Caldera, the lagoons of Río Seco, the Laguna Verde or the complex of Siete Lagunas, are some examples.

Only a few species of reptiles travel so high:

Coronella austriaca
The European smooth snake is very scarce, only residual populations have been located in 'borreguiles' and grasslands of headwaters of watercourses and in fields and areas of the piornal-enebral, in a low altitudinal range between 2,100 and 2,800 meters of altitude.

Natrix natrix
In Sierra Nevada, the collared or grass snake has a dispersed distribution, associated with river channels and water storage infrastructures. It has a wide altitudinal range from the low levels of the massif to 3,200 meters.

Vipera latastei
The viper snout shows one of the highest altitudinal ranges among the reptiles of Andalusia, occupying all the bioclimatic floors in Sierra Nevada reaching up to 3,000 metres of altitude.

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Below 2,800 metres vegetation is more typical of the Mediterranean zone. Approximately 80% of the forested formations of the Sierra Nevada correspond to reforested pine forests planted during the second half of the 20th century.
The reforestation intensified after 1935. In the years of more intensive reforestation, more than 2,000 hectares were planted with: Pinus pinaster, Pinus halepensis, Pinus nigra and
Pinus sylvestris.

Reptiles
Mauremys leprosa
(Mediterranean turtle)
Macroprotodon cucullatus
(False Smooth snake)
Natrix natrix
(Grass snake)

Amphibians
Alytes dickhillenii
(Betic midwife toad)
Epidalea calamita
(Natterjack toad)

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The Padul Wetland, is a tectonic depression, located on the western edge of the Sierra Nevada, about 750 meters above sea level, in the Valley of Lecrin.

Map of Padul Wetland
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0143328,-3.5910682,4880m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=es-ES

It was created about 300,000 years ago, after the rise of the Bética Mountain Range, thanks to the Nigüelas fault.
The set of lagoons and peat bogs covers an area of 327,398 hectares.

Anphibians
Hyla meridionalis
Pelophylax perezi

Salamandra salamandra  (VU)
Pleurodeles waltl
Bufo spinosus
Epidalea calamita

Reptiles
Mauremys leprosa (VU)
Natrix maura
Timon lepidus nevadensis
Psammodromus hispanicus
Psammodromus algirus

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Two years ago I was with my family visiting the Pyrenean region of Huesca. In one of the steepest valleys, called Selva de Oza, I had the good fortune to find this group of amphibians with gills in a stream in the Ñetera ravine. Most of them had hind legs. I do not know what kind of amphibian they belong to. I searched for information in the area and two amphibians are "easy" to see in this valley: the Calotriton asper (Pyrenean triton) and the Salamander fastuosa.
If someone thinks they know who it is, thankful that you make any comments!

Video: Tania Gallego (Jacetania region. Spain)

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In Sierra Nevada 9 different species of ophidians live, of the 15 species present in the Iberian Peninsula.

The government has an information server for amphibians and reptiles in Spain (S.I.A.R.E.)
http://siare.herpetologica.es/bdh

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A National Inventory on amphibians and reptiles of Spain. This Atlas has been made by the Spanish Herpetological Association, and the scientists named in this padlet have collaborated: Rafael Márquez and Miguel Lizana.