Diversity and distribution of reptiles in Romania

Laurentiu Rozylowicz,Florina Stănescu,Dan Cogălniceanu,Ruben Iosif,Diana Székely,Marian Tudor,Ciprian Samoilă,Paul Székely

doi:10.3897/zookeys.341.5502

Abstract

The reptile fauna of Romania comprises 23 species, out of which 12 species reach here the limit of their geographic range. We compiled and updated a national database of the reptile species occurrences from a variety of sources including our own field surveys, personal communication from specialists, museum collections and the scientific literature. The occurrence records were georeferenced and stored in a geodatabase for additional analysis of their spatial patterns. The spatial analysis revealed a biased sampling effort concentrated in various protected areas, and deficient in the vast agricultural areas of the southern part of Romania. The patterns of species richness showed a higher number of species in the warmer and drier regions, and a relatively low number of species in the rest of the country. Our database provides a starting point for further analyses, and represents a reliable tool for drafting conservation plans.

Highlights

Reptiles are declining worldwide at an alarming rate (Gibbons et al 2000, Böhm et al 2013) and, along with amphibians, are considered among the most threatened vertebrate groups (Stuart et al 2008, Hof et al 2011)
Complex species distribution models have been developed, with some managing to predict the species ecological niches from just a few known localities (Phillips et al 2006, Peterson et al 2011), we still face difficulties to accurately assess the impact of these future threats
It is mandatory to check for any bias in the sampling effort when mapping species distribution (e.g., Proess 2003, Loureiro et al 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Reptiles are declining worldwide at an alarming rate (Gibbons et al 2000, Böhm et al 2013) and, along with amphibians, are considered among the most threatened vertebrate groups (Stuart et al 2008, Hof et al 2011). Data quality issues are triggered by use of improper spatial resolution, misidentification, missing data, and the lack of a proper sampling design (Araújo and Guisan 2006, Peterson et al 2011). In this manner, it is mandatory to check for any bias in the sampling effort when mapping species distribution (e.g., Proess 2003, Loureiro et al 2010)

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Conclusion