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(some) Habitats of the Reptiles and amphibians of Greece

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(some) Habitats of the Reptiles and amphibians of Greece

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Reptiles and amphibians can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from secluded mountain caves to cities. The Dadia National Park is compromised of a number of habitas and micro-habitats, but we’re refer to only 2 from this site.

Dadia National Park, Greece

Located in northeastern Greece, this National Park was originally created to conserve a great diversity of birds of prey, however this area also holds a particularly rich herpetofauna.

It is a forest complex characterized by Pinus halepensis brutia, Pinus nigra, Quercus frainetto, Q. cerris and Q. pubescens.

Inside this National Park one can find both terrestrial and semi-aquatic herpetofauna due to the plethora of habitats. More specifically:

Ø  Aquatic microhabitats such as brooks, ditches, puddles, wet grass areas and lowland streams where scientists found Bombina variegata and Emys orbicularis. Those microhabitas could be located in agricultural fields too. Except from turtles and frogs there are also snakes that can be found in wet lands such as Natrix  natrix.

Ø  Semi-open (oak) woods (Quercus pubescens) supported 5 lizard species including Podarcis taurica and the two protected tortoise species (Testudo graeca, T. hermanni). Semi-open areas are great for reptiles since they can easily hunt and thermo regulate but also hide efficiently from their predators.

http://io.teiion.gr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/778/katietalamphrept07herpsdadia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Cities and their parks

Only in the prefecture of Attica there are several parks inside the cities, small and big, in which there have been found many reptile species and amphibians. Those habitats are a safe place for animals, away from dangerous roads and humans. Inside those parks there have also been recorded invasive species (Trachemys scripta scripta). Even in ancient sites, between the rocks where sometimes rain water stays still for long periods of time, there have been found frog populations mating and thriving in those micro habitats.

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/26036-Reptilia
https://www.projectnoah.org/missions/36306055

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National Park of Dadia and it's mosaic habitats.

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Dadia National Park: habitat #1 semi-open woods

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Dadia National Park: habitat #1 semi-open woods

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A characteristic example of the semi-open woods in Dadia. On those rock formations reptiles can thermo regulate, hunt and hide from their predators.

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Dadia National Park: habitat #2 wetlands

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Dadia National Park: habitat #2 wetlands

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Open areas where small ponds or wet grass areas are also common in many National Parks in Greece. These photos were taken again in Dadia National Park, since there's a plethora of habitats suitable for reptiles.

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In Diomede's Botanic Garden located in Athens, there have been found invasive and endogenous turtles and tortoises respectivily.

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Botanical Garden in Athens (invasive turtle)

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Botanical Garden in Athens (invasive turtle)

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The invasive Trachemys scripta elegans is thriving in the park's man made ponds.

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αρχείο λήψης (1)

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041209800021X
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs001289900426?LI=true
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00193.x

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Laophis crotaloides was described as a very large fossil viperid snake species from northern Greece. The fossil material of this study consists of an isolated vertebra that was collected in the early 1980s in the locality of Megalo Emvolon, Greece. The vertebra is currated in the collections of the institute of Earth Sciences Utrecht under the catalogue number KB3.  In Megalo Emvolon except from L. crotaloides there are other reptiles represented such as small and giant tortoises .

Genus: Laophis OWEN 1857

Type species: Laophis crotaloides OWEN 1857

Holotype 13 precloacal vertebrae. No catalogue number formally designated and the original material is now lost.

New reffered specimen KB3, is an incomplete precloacal vertebrae.

Occurrence Megalo Emvolon (Central Macedonia, Greece), early Pliocene. The taxon is known only from the type locality.

The taxonomic status of L. crotaloides cannot be evaluated with certainty and it’s not possible to allocate this taxon to either crotalines or viperines. On the basis of biogeography it seems more possible that it’s a viperine.

http://www.reptile-database.org/db-info/snakes.html

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00015-016-0210-y

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Alytids were once widespread in Europe and in Greece fossils attributed to this group have been briefly reported from the Miocene of Aliveri, Ano Metochi, Biodrak, Lefkon, Maramena, Monasteri and Pikermi, the Pliocene of Kardia, Ptolemais and Spilia, and the Miocene or Pliocene of Rema Aslan and Rema Marmara.

Amphibian Linnaeus, 1758

Anura Fischer von Waldheim, 1813

Alytidae Fitzinger, 1843

Cf. Alytidae indet.

Reffered specimens: UU PL 701, a fragmentary trunk vertebra, UU PL 702, a single, partial tibiofibula.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699516300973

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Molecular-phylogeny-of-recent-Alytidae-and-Bombinatoridae-a-Maximum-likelihood-tree_fig4_237056910

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Mediterranean basin: Amphibians and Reptiles - Biodiversity 

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Mediterranean basin: Amphibians and Reptiles - Biodiversity 

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https://www.intechopen.com/books/mediterranean-identities-environment-society-culture/amphibians-and-reptiles-of-the-mediterranean-basin

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Although amphibians and especially reptiles are greatly misunderstood in Greece, there are plenty scientific groups dedicated to the protection of our unique herpetofauna.

A site dedicated to Greece's herpetofauna
www.herpetofauna.gr

Plenty of research regarding Greece's reptiles and amphibians.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308300339_The_Amphibians_and_Reptiles_of_Greece

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All of the maps below were taken from https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/35/1/article-p1_1.xml

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A refuge for a plethora of species during the Quaternary ice ages.

https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/RL-2006-001.pdf

https://www.nature.com/articles/35016000

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Habitats of reptiles and amphibians in Greece-vol 2-characteristic pictures

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Habitats of reptiles and amphibians in Greece-vol 2-characteristic pictures

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One could upload an infinite photo album of the most common and uncommon places where reptiles have been found in Greece-from lakes and oak woods to seasonal and randomly created ponds in between ancient ruins (which we got more than plenty here).

Lake Prespa
https://books.google.gr/books?hl=el&lr=&id=hXbyCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&dq=greece+lake+reptiles&ots=s71GrefMkm&sig=UGbA-_KJn_NbRaRDQnFOC4J_ZLE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=greece%20lake%20reptiles&f=false

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Milos Island-herpetologists on the field.

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Amphibian populations are a great indicator of the level of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, due to the fact that they rely heavily on water quality (oxygen levels and pollutants levels) in order to survive. However, there are some cases where reptile populations can provide informations about the quality of a specific ecosystem. Reptiles and amphibians are in some cases hard to study and/or more attention (and money for research) is provided for other organisms. Following some very interisting case studies.

Heavy-metal concentration in the frog Rana ridibunda from a small river of Macedonia, Northern Greece

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041209800021X

Use of river‐wetland habitats in a declining population of the terrapin (Mauremys rivulata) along the Strymon River, northern Greece
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00193.x

Heavy Metal Contamination in a Lizard, Agama stellio stellio, Compared in Urban, High Altitude and Agricultural, Low Altitude Areas of North Greece

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs001289900426?LI=true

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Lyciasalamandra helverseni (Pieper, 1963)

Identification: Maximum length- 140 mm males, 150mm females. The tail is usually slightly shorter than the SVL. The male possesses a spike-shaped protuberance on the dorsal surface of the tail base and nuptial pads on the forelegs that are well-developed during the breeding season.

Range:  It’s endemic to Greece where it occurs on 3 southeastern Aegean islands: Karpathos, Saria and Kasos

Habitat: It occurs in a variety of habitats, specifically in pine forests, cultivated and rocky areas, Mediterranean maquis, all associated with a limestone, karstic substrate. During the hot, dry summers the limestone caves offer this salamander a cool and humid retreat. The species is abundant near human settlements, where it can be found between loose rock walls and ruins.

Adaptations: Lyciasalamndra helverseni is active from October or November to March, when mating occurs.

In order to avoid Greece’s dry and hot days, this salamander is nocturnal and more active on the surface under cool, windless and humid conditions, as well as during and after rainfall. It spends the rest of its time hiding in underground burrows, cracks and crevices, usually in groups in order to avoid dehydration.

This amphibian can reproduce independently of water and the female usually gives birth to 2 fully developed young after a gestation period of 1 year. They become sexually mature when they reach the age of 3. They are estimated to live up to 14 years.

Their diet consists of crawling invertebrates.

source:

"Amphibians and Reptiles of Greece"-by Efstratios D. Valakos, Panayiotis Pafilis, Konstantinos Sotiropoulos, Petros Lymberakis, Panayiota Maragou and Johannes Foufopoulos

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Macrovipera schweizeri (Werner, 1935)

Identification: It’s a large, robust viper with total length 1.5 m. Triangular head, large and the typical among vipers, vertical pupils.

Colour ranges from gray to tan and light brown with darker markings on the dorsum, occasionally uniform brick-red individuals are encountered.

Range: Found only in the Milos Archipelago, Milos, Kimolos, Polyaigos and Sifnos islands.

Habitat: The island ecosystems are all alike, mainly consisted of phrygana and maquis. It prefers humid areas close to water like streams, small rivers and lakes. It can also be found in gardens and cultivated land.

Adaptations: This viper is active mainly during the day. It’s an active climber preying on birds and their nests and it’s also a skilful swimmer, crossing small streams and lakes. During summer, this species is active at dusk or early at night. It preys upon mammals, birds, lizards and insects. It is the only egg-laying viper in Europe, with the female laying 7-11 eggs. It’s also highly venomous.

source:

"Amphibians and Reptiles of Greece"-by Efstratios D. Valakos, Panayiotis Pafilis, Konstantinos Sotiropoulos, Petros Lymberakis, Panayiota Maragou and Johannes Foufopoulos

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Design the business plan of a local voluntary organisation which aims to protect the local herpetofauna.

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Design the business plan of a local voluntary organisation which aims to protect the local herpetofauna.

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A common misconception in Greece is that animals like reptiles and amphibians can only be found "in the wild", meaning forests, rivers, lakes and mountains. As a result, every time a citizen spots a snake in their balcony or behind the bushes of their garden, it's a headline for the local newspaper. Unfortunately, those meetings rarely go well, because Greeks have 2 beliefs regarding snakes: firstly, every snake is a viper and secondly "ecologists release snakes in cities". As laughable as it sounds, it's actually quite harmful for the local herpetofauna, since the majority of those encounters end up in killing the reptile/amphibian which was unlucky to be discovered.
This is first and foremost an indicator of how misinformed the citizens of this country are. A very effective way to tackle this problem is to target a particular group of people who is still not strongly affected by misconceptions and is more than willing to learn: children.
"Gotta find 'em all" will be an educational program held by volunteer biologists/zoologists. This group of scientists will be travelling across the country, in cities and villages, and will work together with the local schools and its teachers. Firstly, the children will be presented with a brief PowerPoint presentation where they will be introduced to their local herpetofauna, mainly with pictures and sound effects (ex frog calls). Then they will be given their own “critter kit”, which will basically be the main tools a professional herpetologist uses but, of course, a mini version of them. The kit will include stuff like a pond net, a snake hook, a compass, binoculars, flashlight and a small, plastic terrarium in order to see up close (and safely) some of the critters. Finally, each region will be given a unique to their herpetofauna card, where all reptiles and amphibians will be on, alongside an empty check box and empty space. Every time the children come across a critter, they will check the box and write the date and coordinates of where the animal was found.

This program will eventually give something different in children living in urban or rural areas. In villages, children will be rid of the fear of snakes and will learn the importance of keeping them safe, since they’re (example) the main predator of mice (a pest in corps). The greatest effect though will be seen in children living in the cities, where the only wildlife they may have noticed are stray dogs and cats and the occasional magpie.  By teaching them that there are small reptiles and amphibians in their houses, in their gardens and in their schoolyards, we will give them a whole new perspective. They will start paying attention in their surroundings, they’ll stop being scared of lizards and snakes, instead, they’ll find it fascinating how such a “wild” animal can coexist peacefully with humans, that is of course, if you respect it. An even more ambitious goal of this program is to teach children to respect their environment, whether it’s a village or a city, because if we teach children that there are friendly and interesting animals living along with them, they will be less willing to pollute their space, since they will be hurting their new friends.

Herpetologists who take part in this program will be given a certificate on their abilities to host an environmental education program and more importantly, a dataset gathered by 6-10 children at a time. Of course the herpetologists will carry with them a fisrt aid kit, and will show children how to properly look for reptiles. The children will not handle any poisonous snakes.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ― Mahatma Gandhi

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Gudkova Ekaterina's HerpetoArea RU
Ekaterina’s herpetoarea is Russia, a country approximately 130 times larger than Greece and with a very different climate, geology and consequently,  herpetofauna. For different reasons, each country has a respectable number of endemic species, Greece due to its geological position and history (ice age refuge for many species) and Russia due to its size, cold climate and geography (close to Asian countries with rich herpetofauna). Nonetheless one can find some similarities in the genus spectrum, for example, both countries have vipers, rat snakes (Elaphe quatuorlineata  in Greece and E. schreenkii in Russia), slow worms (Anguis cephallonica in Greece and A. fragilis in Russia) and many common toad and frogs Genus. The most interesting reptile found in Russia in my opinion are the softshell turtles Pelodiscus maackii and Pelodiscus sinensis, a quite weird looking turtle with 0 species found in Greece.

Tania's HerpetoArea Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park (Spain)
Although there were similarities in our HerpetoAreas regarding some ecosystems like the pine forests and Mediterranean shrubs (Donana National Park), what picked my interest were the pastures and lagoons of high mountains, where only hardy reptiles would be able to survive. In Greece, in high altitudes one can find at best salamanders or tritons, rarely reptiles. Another common thing (among many HerpetoAreas) was the inability and unwillingness of the government to effectively protect the environment, and how much humans have impacted even protected areas (fires caused by arsons).

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Gianni’s HerpetoArea (Giannis Annousis) has created a volunteer program which focuses heavily on education, a common theme found in many programs created by my co-learners from Greece. This shows how misinformed the Greek community is and the willingness of the scientific community to take action. Greece has a very rich past, and as a result, people forget/ignore the present, the magnificent animals that have been living here for centuries, witnesses of Greece’s glory and downfall. By educating Greece’s citizens on the richness of our herpetofauna, we remind them that a country can have not only history, but ongoing environmental consciousness, the only way to keep the ecosystems of this country alive.

Sami Zhioua’s HerpetoArea CH has created a program regarding amphibian migration and the mortality occurring when they cross man made roads. The proposition is very interesting and sounds quite actionable! Greece also faces the same issues, unfortunately snakes are the most common victims here. Those passages will offer a great dataset for scientists and will ensure the survival of the migrating amphibians. On the other hand in Greece, we firstly must understand how important the herpetofauna is in an ecosystem, and then we might get some funding in projects like road passages for animals (any animal, amphibians and reptiles are the last vertebrates taken into consideration by the government).

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https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/50/8/653/243214

In Greece reptiles and amphibians are often considered as pests, unnecessary organisms. As mentioned many times before, all those misconceptions stem from schools and the extremely low of environmental education students and citizens get. As a result, the herpetofauna is threatened in many ways such as:

·         Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation

It’s not easy to study the effects a forest fire can have on the herpetofauna, since there are not enough data about it to begin with. There have been some studies that showcase how multiple forest fires (which in Greece are often the result of arson) can have a negative effect in reptiles (among many animals): “The effects of fire and mechanical habitat destruction on survival of the tortoise Testudo hermanni in northern Greece”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320799000993

·         Environmental pollution

It’s by now a global phenomenon: environmental pollution is everywhere. In Greece there aren’t many strict laws regarding waste whether from citizens or factories, and one can only imagine the damage that has been done already. Amphibians are a great model to study the level of pollutants in streams, rives and any aquatic ecosystem, due to the fact that they have permeable skin and are greatly affected even when the pollutants are in low concentrations in their environment.

“Heavy-metal concentration in the frog Rana ridibunda from a small river of Macedonia, Northern Greece”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041209800021X

·         Invasive species

Greece is located between 3 continents, Europe, Africa and Asian and it’s known for ports and a hotspot for tourists. Along with the people visiting Greece, sometimes they carry with them “guests” and some of them are reptiles and amphibians from other countries. A known case study in Greece is about Podarcis siculus, our so called “Italian visitor”. There are many studies conducted currently examining the interactions of this species with the local ones.

“Effective thermoregulation in a newly established population of Podarcis siculus in Greece: a possible advantage for a successful invader”

http://fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/18075

·         Diseases

The most deadly disease among amphibians reached Europe. The mortality rate is extremely high and scientists are literally fighting against the clock in order to save the infected populations and stop the fungus from spreading. Invasive species have helped this disease spread.

“Chytrid Fungus in Europe”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366739/

“Distribution, prevalence, and amphibian hosts of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Balkans”

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9aa1/ce66de303c18c2124dfac6023126b3747897.pdf

·         Global climate change

Undeniably, climate change has affected the populations of the majority of the species of this planet. Herpetofauna is greatly affected.

“Climate Change and Elevated Extinction Rates of Reptiles from Mediterranean Islands”

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/657624

https://books.google.gr/books?hl=el&lr=&id=TFpBZnIq_PoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA179&dq=macrovipera+schweizeri+illegal+trade+&ots=-n4ArGrq1X&sig=VC72unw3MsDagVzaliyB0ElhRJ8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

·         Overexploitation

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·         Environmental education: programs in schools that focus mainly on the herpetofauna.

·         Reptile and amphibian rescue centers: basically group of people who will interfere when citizens and reptiles encounter (since the Firefighting or Police departments receive no education on the matter).

·         Green politics: the state should be providing funds to study reptiles and amphibians as indicators for environmental pollution (example).

Some active groups are:
Archellon: rescue center for studying and promoting the conservation of sea turtles
https://www.archelon.gr/

Save Ithaca's Green Toad
http://www.easystarter.com/projects/swste-ton-prasinofryno-ths-ithakhs

Medasset
https://www.medasset.org/el/

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Greece is located in Southern Europe and it's a trancontimental country that consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland. Located at a strategic spot, at the crossroads of Europe,Asia and Africa, Greece is one of the few European countries that is so rich in regards of fauna, flora and habitat diversity.
Due to it's highly indented coastline and numerous islands, Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world (13.676 km). There are approximately 1.200-6.000 islands (depending on the definition), 227 of which are inhabited.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece

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By using as a guideline E. Mariolopoulo's (father of modern Greek meteorology and climatology) bioclimatic categories of Greece, we conclude that there are 4 main climate categories for Greece:
1. Semi-arid areas (precipitation levels: 200-500 mm)
2. Semi-humid areas (pr.:500-1000mm)
3. Humid areas (pr.:1000-2000mm)
4. Highly Humid Areas (pr.: >2000mm)

According to Koppen Climate Classification the majority of Greece's land with altitude lower than 1000m is Csa, meaning "Mediterranean climate". Areas with altitude over 1000 m are categorized as Csb, where the average temperature of the hottest month is below 22 Celcius degrees.

According to Thornthwaite Climate Classification there are 29 climate areas in Greece.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece/Climate
https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/Greece.htm

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Mediterranean Basin Hotspot

It stretches from Cabo Verde in the west to Jordan and Turkey in the east and from Italy in the north to Tunisia in the south. Greece is included. Although humans have been present in the area for thousands of years and the ecosystems reached an equilibrium long ago, this delicate balance is currently in danger.

Main threats:

·         Pressure on water resources

·         Forest fires

·         Pollution

·         Agricultural intensification and land abandonment

·         Infrastructure and residential development

·         Transport infrastructure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV0Wev-lWhw

https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mediterranean-basin
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.98467.x