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https://padlet.com/nikolitsa1210
Your BioArea is looking excellent!

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Switzerland has more rainfalls per year than Greece. With water accumulation in the mountains, species diversity is higher than Greece's. Moreover, Greece is affected by more wildfires due to climate change. With more rainfalls in Switzerland, this feature threatens less Swiss biodiversity.
Switzerland is smaller than Greece, however it has more animals. This might be linked with the amount of fresh water. With human settlement, species are listed on the Red List. Therefore, more species, more species on the Red List.
As glaciers tend to disappear, the amount of invasive species increase because the find suitable ecosystems. Therefore, the number of invasive species is higher than in Greece.

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Matching global tendencies, Switzerlands precipitations are decreasing and the temperatures are increasing.
During the last past 10 years, plants have increased their range about 10m higher; birds and butterflies have increased by 40m. This means that at higher altitudes, the ecosystem is starting to shift towards lower-altitude ecosystems.  Consequently, biodiversity is decreasing.
With the increase of global climate change, valuable ecosystems tend to disappear.

Source :
FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: 60 p.

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The number of invasive species in Switzerland is quite similar to the number of invasive species found in Central Europe.
If we compare the list of the 100 World's worst invasive species, few are present in Switzerland :

Aedes albopictus - Tiger mosquito

Aphanomyces astaci - Crayfish plague (fungi)

Cinara cupressi - Cypress aphid

Cryphonectria parasitica - Chessnut blight (fungi)

Cyprinus carpio - Fancy carp

Dreissena polymorpha - Zebra mussel

Felis catus - Domestic cat

Linepithema humile - Argentine ant

Micropterus salmoides - American black bass

Myocastor coypus - Coypu

Ophiostoma ulmi sensu lato - Dutch elm desease (fungi)

Phytophthora cinnamomi  - Seeding blight

Pueraria montana var. lobata - Kudzu vine

Lithobates catesbeianus - Bullfrog

Salmo trutta - Salmon trout

Trachemys scripta elegans - red-eared slider terrapin

Trogoderma granarium - khapra beetle

Oncorhynchus mykiss - steelhead trout

18 % of the world's worst invasive species are found in Switzerland. This might be due to the fact the the Swiss market depends mainly on imported products. This increases the trade of alien species.

Switzerland counts approximately 60 invasive alien species in 2016. They rapidly replace native species (Trachemys scripta elegans has replaced Emys orbicularis, leading the later to extinction). They also create hybrids with native species (two frog species, one invasive have bread and created a hybrid which is replace the native frog). Since 2016, the Swiss government is focusing on the reporting and  controlling invasive alien species.

Source :

http://www.issg.org/worst100_species.html

Wittenberg, R. (ed.) (2005) An inventory of alien species and their threat to biodiversity and economy in Switzerland. CABI Bioscience Switzerland Centre report to the Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape. The environment in practice no. 0629. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. 155 pp.

FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: 60 p.

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As mentioned previously, Switzerland in an agriculture land. Therefore, Swiss meat is highly promoted by the government but as well as the population. All farmers are financially supported by the government. However, they have to respect certain features such as :

respect the animals within the livestock

stable fertilisation in soils

must have about 7% of lands as "ecological compensation areas"

species diversity

If farmers achieve these features, the government will invest more in there agriculture production. Therefore, Swiss farmers have an important interest in sustainable and durable agriculture.

Worldwide, agriculture uses 70% of the fresh water. Switzerland has important amounts of rain per year, which is stored in the mountains. Thus, agriculture only uses 2% of the fresh water available for there production.

Another important feature is greenhouse gases. Of course, there are gases which contribute to climate change. The food industry is responsible for 13% of the gas emission. However, between 1990 and 2015, the greenhouse gas emission has been reduced by 11%.

Source : www.viandesuisse.ch

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In Switzerland, around 40% of the fauna and flora are listed on the Red List :

Animals : 1080/2724 species (40%)

Ferns and flowering plants : 990/2953 species (34%)

3 out of 4 large carnivores in Switzerland are on the red list.

Source :

FOEN (ed.), 2010: Switzerland's Fourth National Report under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bern, 148 pp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Switzerland

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The fashion industry in Switzerland knows brands such as Canadian Goose that uses animal fur. However, people tend to not buy this brand for ethical reasons.
A new brand, RoyalFox has started to produce winter clothing with fur from Swiss red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Red foxes have increased their density enormously in urban areas leading to ecological and health issues (Gloor S. 2002). Therefore, to regulate the population, we need to hunt the red fox. Over 20'000 red foxes are hunted in Switzerland per year. RoyalFox uses the skin and fur of these hunted fox to produce the clothes, instead of importing fur. In addition, they do not use feathers, they use thermo to produce isolation.

Source :

www.royalfox.org

Gloor, S. (2002). The rise of urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Switzerland and ecological and parasitological aspects of a fox population in the recently colonised city of Zurich (Doctoral dissertation, Universität Zürich).

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The issue with the pet market in mainly focused on the Herpetofauna. Wildlife caught and put in the pet market are essentially  vipers. In Switzerland, there are two vipers species, the aspic viper (Vipera aspis) and the common European adder (Vipera berus). Both of these species are adored by the population. However, vipers on the pet market is limited. Therefore, a "black market" has been created and they capture wild vipers, and then they are sold to people.

Source : discussions with local herpetologist.

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In Switzerland, wildlife used in the food industry is highly protected. In this sense, wildlife can be hunt for food. However, hunt is allowed only during the hunting season, during automne.
During this time, people can hunt a very limited amount of animals. Therefore the government has control on the wildlife used for the food industry, as well as the evolution of abundance of species.

The Swiss government controls this hunt, and evaluates the number of animals hunted each year. In the following graph you can see that the number of animals hunted each year increases. This might be the result of the increase of human population. In 2016, more than 70'000 animals were hunted. Of course, this number includes other reasons to hunt such as control of the population.

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Roads are built in order to facilitate the access to areas, creating habitat fragmentation. With the intense agriculture, habitat fragmentation is very important. This is measured through the "effective mesh size", which describes the probability that randomly selected points are connected and not separated by any barrier. This means that the higher the mesh size, the less the habitat is fragmented. The less fragmented areas are the ones at higher elevation (obviously) because at higher altitude, slopes become steeper, thus less access with important agriculture machins.

Source and image : FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: 60 p.

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In this Figure, you can see the 5 levels in the trophic pyramid.

1. At the bottom, primary producers : the grasslands, meadows and pastures cover a large proportion of Swiss landscape.

2. In those areas, many rodents species feed on herbs and nest in small galeries. An example is the common vole (Microtus arvalis); second level of the trophic pyramid : herbivorous consumers.

3. Above these herbivores, the primary predators. Usually, they feed on small animals such as rodents, insects or small birds (in the case of land or air animals). An example in Switzerland is the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis). This is the smallest carnivore in Central Europe.

4. A secondary predator is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). This mammal is widely spread across the country. Living in the forest or grassland, the red fox has access to such prey.

5. A top predator, the grey wolf (Canis lupus). Wolves are rare in Switzerland because they used to be hunted for generations. However, legal protection and conservation has brought wolves back in Switzerland.

Within this trophic pyramid, a predator-level is missing. Switzerland is almost 42'000 km². Thus, the proportion of predators is limited due to space. Therefore, few land predators are found in Switzerland.
Source :

www.kora.ch

www.waldwissen.net

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These niche partitioning will be illustrated by two birds of prey, the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco). Both of these prey live forests of Switzerland and feed on the same ressources : small mammals. Furthermore, the Northern Goshawk is a diurnal hunter. Therefore, during the day, this hawk has his hunting grounds all for him self (in terms of birds; other predators such as foxes are also found in the forest).
However, the Tawny Owl hunts similar prey within the forest. For these two species to cohabit, the Tawny Owl hunts during night. Therefore, the competition/concurrence for the same food ressources is reduced by hunting at different daily periods. In addition, the distribution of A. gentilis and S. aluco overlap completely.
Source and image : https://www.vogelwarte.ch

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Native from Est-Asia, this Hymenoptera (Aproceros leucopoda) has invaded Switzerland and other countries of Europe. This parasitic organisme  is a pest of elms (Ulmus spp.). The larvae are phytophagous, driving en eradication of elms throughout Europe (Blank et al. 2010).
By feeding on the leaves, the photosynthesis function is decreased, leading to the death of elms. In addition, larvae hache directly on the leaves, making the dammge more efficient.
Source:

Blank, S. M., Hara, H., Mikulás, J., Csóka, G., Ciornei, C., Constantineanu, R., ... & Vétek, G. (2010). Aproceros leucopoda (Hymenoptera: Argidae): an East Asian pest of elms (Ulmus spp.) invading Europe. European Journal of Entomology, 107(3), 357-367

www.cabi.org

Source image : www.24heures.ch

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The edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is a mountain type flower,  around 2'000m altitude. This is an iconic flower in Switzerland (https://www.letemps.ch/opinions/chemise-motif-dedelweiss-symbole-pur-ambigu).
The edelweiss is mainly found in the Seslerio-Caricetum sempervirentis. This niche dominated by alcalin soils, sunlight and cold winters, thus large variation of temperatures. This ecological stress creates a niche which is hard to survive. Few species live within this area. A study showed that L. alpinum occurs mostly in limestone environments (Ischer et al. 2014). Furthermore, the low temperatures might not be essential to the edelweiss but it will limit competition in the niche (Ischer et al. 2014).
Source :

www.infoflora.ch

Ischer, M., Dubuis, A., Keller, R., & Vittoz, P. (2014). A better understanding of the ecological conditions for Leontopodium alpinum Cassini in the Swiss Alps. Folia Geobotanica, 49(4), 541-558

Source image : de.wikipedia.org

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The alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is a characteristic animal of Switzerland (www.pronatura.ch). The ecological niche of this species is defined in its name, the alpine ecosystem. the ibex is an excellent climber, therefore, it lives in very steep parts of the mountains (cf. Figure). Therefore, the ibex can dominate this special niche.
As it is herbivorous, it feeds mainly in grasslands. However, these grasslands are difficult to access in mountains by other herbivorous species.
In Switzerland, the "Creux-du-Van" is an iconic ecosystem. At 1'500m altitude, the cirque is about 1'4 km long and 150m depth. Therefore, the access to the plateau is difficult for other herbivores. Usually, the ibex is found in this typical niche.
Source : www.creuxduvan.com
Source image : photoswisscore.blogspot.com

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Ixodes ricinus is a tick which is found in the northern hemisphere. As all ticks, females suck on blood for their meal. However, the blood meal is also a passage for animal-pathogens transmission. So the nymphal stage will transmit the pathogens through saliva and infect the human for instance. Two fatal diseases are known : Lyme disease and tick-born encephalitis. The first is caused by a bacteria, Borellia burgdorf ; the later by a Flavivirus.
I. ricinus has three life stages. At first, the larvae feed on small animals such as rodents. After, they become nymph. These ticks feed an larger animals, less often humans. Then, they can feed on any large animal, including humans. To feed, the tick must first find a host. The typical behaviour of ticks are to wait for a host to pass and then get hold of it. After, the tick must find a spot to feed, usually in moist areas. Then it inserts its feeding tube to suck the blood. While feeding, it injects numerous proteins to act as anticoagulants or anaesthetic. After a couple of days, the tick lets go of the host, and can pass to the next stage of life. In the case of an adult, it will lay the eggs, and the life cycle is over.
Source : talks with André Aeschlimann and Elyes Zhioua (both professors in parasitology)

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Stock Photo - European castor bean tick - Sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus, feeding on human skin

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Download this stock image: European castor bean tick - Sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus, feeding on human skin - C7MKNX from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

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The golden eagle has a wing span that can exceed 2m length. This eagle is found in the Swiss National Park, but also in other areas in Switzerland. This park is mainly consisted of alpin ecosystems, which is suited for this large bird. The main diet of the golden eagle are marmots, rodents which live in the grasslands of these alpine ecosystem. The marmots depend on burrows to protect from the eagles.
Eagles do not have natural predators in this area, therefore, we can consider it as a top predator. In the Swiss National Park, 6 pairs of eagles have been recorder. If we consider the fact that between levels of the trophic pyramids we must amplify by 10 the number of individuals, these 12 individuals maintain 120 marmots, thus 60 pairs over 170 km². This low density may explain the small number of golden eagles.

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The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a top predator in the Swiss biodiversity. The lynx hunts especially during night. It's typical diet is composed of roe deers and chamois. Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) are ungulates that live in rocky mountains ecosystems. However, individuals are often seen in grasslands foraging. Therefore, this creates opportunities for the lynx to hunt. This top predator needs between 50-60 chamois per year.
Source image : www.estrepublicain.fr
Source : www.kora.ch

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The wolves were brought in because the increased elk population was overgrazing the deciduous, woody species such as aspen and cottonwood.

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Briefly, millions of years ago, the Eurasian and African tectonic plates collided and formed the Alps. Today, this mountain range is the highest in Europe, crossing several countries such as France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
The Alps went through different events of glaciation. Moving and causing erosion, different valleys were formed which created the typical Swiss landscape we know today. Since 1850, more than 30% of the glaciation has disappeared in Switzerland, mainly due to climat change.

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Today, Switzerland's biodiversity is impacted by climate change, but also human activity, tourism, agriculture and invasive species.
In 2012, Switzerland initiated the "Strategy Biodiversity Swiss" (SBS). This plan is to conserve biodiversity on a long term scale. To do so, Switzerland will invest in conserving different ecosystems, while indirectly conserving species. The aim is to build projects including rail and road infrastructures.
This program will be conducted for 10 years. At first, financial and politic support will be given to protect the biodiversity. After that, the Government will evaluate and decide whether these projects are successful and if financial support must be given for future projects.
Legal support cannot be given nowadays. Only after the first survey can the Government create legislation for the SBS.

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Today, Switzerland has listed approximately 30 endemic species. The following orders are cited :

Lepidoptera (n = 2)

Orthoptera (n = 1)

Gelyelloida (n = 1)

Harpacticoida (n = 1)

Plecoptera (n = 1)

Salmoniformes (n = 14)

Phylum Mollusca (n = 5)

However, several species are also found around Switzerland (within the Alps). The Federal Office for the Environment has included such species as Partially Endemic Species (IEP). A full list of endemic species and IEP can be found here (https://www.bafu.admin.ch/dam/bafu/fr/dokumente/biodiversitaet/fachinfo-daten/liste-der-endemiten-der-schweiz.xlsx.download.xlsx/Endemiten%20ListeA%202017_(public).xlsx).

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Switzerland is a small country in Europe, located in the Alps. The mountains provide large amounts of water throughout the seasons. There are two mountain ranges that cross Switzerland: the Jura and the Alps. In between, there is the plateau filled mainly with pastures which is a passage for species migration (e.g. birds).
Source image : www.tourist-destinations.com

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Nowadays, Switzerland’s land use is divided into four categories: settlement and urban areas (8%), agriculture areas (36%), forest and woods (32%) and unproductive areas (24%). With globalisation, agriculture production has enhanced and led to a loss of habitat diversity. This leads to a homogeneity of vegetation around these lands. Of course, this drives a serious loss of biodiversity. The forest cover has been reduced by 15’000 hectares, from 1985 to 2009. Glaciers have also declined seriously by 25%. This loss in habitat diversity is driven mainly by human activity and climate change. Alluvial zones have lost 36% of their area in twenty years. With pollutants and the rise of water temperatures, species are more and more at risk (e.g. the marble trout). Swiss alps are known for their ski resorts; only 50% of the alps remain “ski-resort-free”, leading to an intense loss in biodiversity.
Source image : www.kora.ch

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Plan d'action du Conseil fédéral 2017 : Plan d’action Stratégie Biodiversité Suisse. Office fédéral de l’environnement OFEV (éd.). Berne. 53 p.

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Erebia christi (Moiré du Simplon in French) is a Lepidoptera only found in a specific region of the Alps, Simplon Pass (Figure on the right). This species is listed as "Vulnerable" by the Red List of the IUCN (Source : www.iucnredlist.org).

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To date, approximately 50’000 plant, animal, fungi and lichens have been identified. An important amount of species are listed “endangered” (c.f. Figure). This is linked with the loss of habitat diversity and climate change. With the rise of temperatures, alluvial zones are reduced, impacting directly of the amphibian community, almost reduced by half before and after 2000.
Source image :

FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: p. 40

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The Alps are home of various plant and animal species. 13'000 plant species have been listed in these mountains. A group of plants, gentian (Gentianaceae) are mainly found in the Alps. These plants have special adaptations to survive in these rocky soils. The "main-known-alpine-plant" found in these mountains is Eritrichium nanum. Commonly know as the "king-of-the-Alps", this species is found at 10'000 feet, growing in snowy and rocky soils.

Animal species have adapted to this rocky environment. The alpine ibex (Capra ibex) lives in steep rocky slopes and moves to flatter grasslands to eat. Other birds live in the Alps such as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). Other animals such as vipers, salamanders, moths and butterflies are found in the Alps.

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Wiedmer, Eric, Jodok Guntern, and Monika Burri. Switzerland's fourth national report under the convention on biological diversity. FOEN, 2010.

FOEN (ed.), 2010: Switzerland's Fourth National Report under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bern, 148 pp.

FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: 60 p.

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The diversity in habitats has been reduced these last two decades in Switzerland. Since 1990, valuable habitats such as dry meadows and pastures has almost been removed due to agriculture (Figure). Such habitats are essential to butterflies and other insects that are at the basics of the trophic chain. Not only did agriculture impoverish habitat diversity, but human needs and settlement has also a huge impact. Swiss alps are very touristic regions, therefore the increase in settlements has driven habitat loss in the areas.
Between 1985 and 2009, two thirds of the agriculture lands were transformed into settlements.

Source and image : FOEN (pub.) 2017: Biodiversity in Switzerland: Status and Trends. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. State of the environment no. 1630: 60 p.

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The "main-known-alpine-plant" found in these mountains is Eritrichium nanum. Commonly know as the "king-of-the-Alps", this species is found at 10'000 feet, growing in snowy and rocky soils.

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Switzerland listed 5 endemic plant species :

Artemisia nivalis (Asteraceae)

Pulmonaria helvetica (Boraginaceae)

Arenaria ciliata subsp. bernensis (Caryophyllaceae)

Alchemilla argentidens (Rosaceae)

Alchemilla galkinae (Rosaceae)

Alchemilla gemmia (Rosaceae)

As said in the Fauna section, Switzerland listed several IEP (n = 98).
The list of endemic plant species and IEP are found in the link above.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alps

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Artemisia nivalis is an endemic species found in Wallis, Zermatt. This species is listed as "Endangered" by the Red List of the IUCN (Source : www.iucnredlist.org). This species is highly protected in Switzerland.

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FOEN (ed.), 2010: Switzerland's Fourth National Report under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bern, 148 pp.

https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/fr/home.html

www.infoflora.ch