Herpetofaunal Assemblages Research Articles

Herpetological remains from the Lower Magdalenian site of El Juyo (Cantabria, Spain): the challenge of reconstructing climate and landscape from poorly diverse assemblages

ABSTRACT El Juyo is a Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian cave site located approximately 8 km west of the city of Santander. The excavations covered an area over 40 m2, and the stratified deposits reach 3.5 m thick, with an estimated duration of Magdalenian occupation of around 1,000 years. Here, we present the first study of the herpetofaunal assemblages from El Juyo and explore their significance in terms of quantitative palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using different quantitative methods. The palaeoherpetofaunal assemblages documented at El Juyo have a much lower diversity than present day. All methods applied to these assemblages characterised the climate as colder (between −8.5 and −3.7°C) and dryer (between −415 and −344 mm) than today, whereas landscape reconstructions suggest humid open area together with a potentially good representation of woodland areas in the vicinity of the site. This indicates that the climate during the Dryas I was much colder and dryer than today, even if the proximity of the sea may have mitigated in some way the harshness of the climate in this area. Rainfall seasonality pattern changed between the coldest periods of the Dryas I and today from more abundant precipitation during summer to late fall and winter maximum.

Drivers of unique and asynchronous population dynamics in Malagasy herpetofauna

AbstractAimA long history of isolation coupled with complex landscapes makes Madagascar ideal for exploring the historical factors that have shaped patterns of population diversity and endemism. Many species‐level studies have suggested Late Quaternary climate change may have influenced population dynamics in the tropics, but unique biomes and individual species properties may have driven idiosyncratic responses to these shifts. Here, we use community‐scale population genetic data to investigate the impact of Quaternary climate cycles on shared demographic response and investigate the contributions of both biotic and abiotic factors which shape these demographic trajectories.LocationMadagascar.TaxonReptiles and Amphibians.MethodsUsing community‐scale population genetic data, we implement a hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation approach to evaluate the degree of synchronous population expansion during glacial cycles across herpetofaunal assemblages both within and across discrete biomes and taxonomic groups. We use Bayesian model averaging to identify intrinsic and extrinsic conditions predictive of individualistic demographic change.ResultsWe find that demographic responses are not uniform across groups, with more than 50% of all populations showing signal of recent expansion. Our explanatory models indicate species occupying narrow elevational ranges had a higher probability of expansion, while amphibian assemblages showed higher genetic diversity and greater departures from population neutrality. Expansion events were largely asynchronous, with coexpansion found in less than half of all populations. Exceptionally, 69%–74% of all humid‐restricted populations coexpanded during the start of the Last Glacial Period at around 100 kya, supporting the hypothesis of a more extensive humid forest cover for Madagascar during this time.Main conclusionsWe show that differences in life history and regional biogeography have contributed to patterns of richness and endemism found across Madagascar, and historical connectivity across humid forests has been an important factor in shaping present‐day diversity and endemism on Madagascar, particularly for amphibians.

Influence of landscape and vegetation characteristics on herpetofaunal assemblages in Gulf Coastal Plain pine forests

AbstractLongleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savanna characterized by open‐canopy, diverse herbaceous vegetation, and high amounts of bare soil once covered much of the southeastern United States Coastal Plain. The unique structural and vegetative conditions of this ecosystem support endemic reptiles and amphibians that have declined as longleaf pine forests have been lost or degraded. Private working pine (Pinusspp.) forests managed for timber production now occur throughout the southeastern United States and have replaced much of the historical longleaf pine savanna. The examination of herpetofaunal (reptile, amphibian) communities in private working loblolly pine (P. taeda) landscapes, particularly in the western Gulf Coastal Plain is lacking. Using repeated field surveys and hierarchical community occupancy models, we examined occupancy and species richness of herpetofauna across 81 sites spanning gradients of management practices, vegetative conditions, and soil composition in northwestern Louisiana, USA, 2017–2019. Young pine stands (<6 yr) exhibited structural characteristics most similar to mature longleaf pine reference sites (>30 yr), while mid‐aged stands (13–26 yr) often featured closed canopy and dense midstory. Vegetation conditions varied widely depending on landscape characteristics and site‐specific disturbance regimes. We documented 43 species of herpetofauna, including 9 open‐pine‐associated species. Occupancy of open‐pine‐associated herpetofauna was positively associated with open‐canopy and understory conditions, and sandy soil area. Sites providing open‐canopy conditions were often occupied by open‐pine‐associated species regardless of overstory type and disturbance method. Overall richness of herpetofauna was greatest at sites with moderate canopy cover outside of sandy soil regions. Working pine landscapes in the western Gulf Coastal Plain can support diverse herpetofaunal assemblages, including open‐pine‐associated species, when management practices maintain open‐canopy conditions on sandy, upland soils. More broadly, our results provide insight into how forest management practices affect herpetofauna and may guide practices that can contribute to conservation value of working pine forests.

Field surveys along habitat gradients revealed differences in herpetofauna assemblage in Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad, Pakistan.

This study was conducted to see whether herpetofaunal assemblage differed amongst hiking trails, undisturbed forest and urban areas within the Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan. Circular plot area-constrained searches (45 plots in each habitat, each plot with an area of 25 m2) were used from March 2018 to July 2019. We recorded seven amphibian species, nine lizard species and six snake species. The species richness of amphibians and lizards was the same in the studied strata, while the detection and encounter rate of snakes was lower in the undisturbed forest and urban areas. The encounter rate of amphibians differed significantly between urban areas and hiking trails/undisturbed forest. The encounter rate and population density of lizards differed significantly between undisturbed forest and urban areas. The most frequently encountered amphibian species along the hiking trail and urban areas was Duttaphrynus stomaticus, with Hoplobatrachus tigerinus in undisturbed forest. The most common and frequently encountered lizard species along the hiking trail and urban areas was Hemidactylus brookii, while the Ophisops jerdonii was the most frequently seen in undisturbed forest. The most common and frequently encountered snake species along the hiking trail and undisturbed forest was the Indotyphlops braminus, while Ptyas mucosa was the most common in urban areas. The subsequent bio-assessment, based on herpetofauna, of the Park revealed good to excellent biotic integrity The Park faces threats including livestock grazing, alien invasive vegetation and human disturbance due to settlements, restaurants and tourism-related activities. While several of these threats have been mitigated since the establishment of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, the Park still requires improved management, especially regarding regulating tourism.

Climate extremes, variability, and trade shape biogeographical patterns of alien species.

Understanding how alien species assemble is crucial for predicting changes to community structure caused by biological invasions and for directing management strategies for alien species, but patterns and drivers of alien species assemblages remain poorly understood relative to native species. Climate has been suggested as a crucial filter of invasion-driven homogenization of biodiversity. However, it remains unclear which climatic factors drive the assemblage of alien species. Here, we compiled global data at both grid scale (2,653 native and 2,806 current grids with a resolution of 2° × 2°) and administrative scale (271 native and 297 current nations and sub-nations) on the distributions of 361 alien amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna), the most threatened vertebrate group on the planet. We found that geographical distance, a proxy for natural dispersal barriers, was the dominant variable contributing to alien herpetofaunal assemblage in native ranges. In contrast, climatic factors explained more unique variation in alien herpetofaunal assemblage after than before invasions. This pattern was driven by extremely high temperatures and precipitation seasonality, 2 hallmarks of global climate change, and bilateral trade which can account for the alien assemblage after invasions. Our results indicated that human-assisted species introductions combined with climate change may accelerate the reorganization of global species distributions.

Cumulative effects of high intensity hurricanes on herpetofaunal assemblages along a tropical dry forest chronosequence

If combined with anthropogenic disturbances and global climatic change, hurricanes may lead to major effects on animal populations and assemblages. The combined effects of cumulative natural and human disturbances on vertebrates have been little studied. There is evidence that herpetofaunal assemblages are sensitive in species richness, abundance, and diversity to anthropogenic and natural disturbances, or to their interaction. In the Pacific coast of Jalisco, Mexico, we aimed to evaluate the cumulative effects of hurricanes Jova (2011) and Patricia (2015) on herpetofaunal assemblages along tropical dry forest successional stages by comparing before and after the hurricanes. We conducted a long-term survey (2009 to 2018) on anuran, lizard and snake populations within five dry forest successional stages (from 0 to > 50 years after forest clearance), including the following: active pastures, early forests, young forests, intermediate forests, and old-growth forests as experimental controls. We hypothesized that cumulative effects of hurricanes will result in a general pattern of a decrease in abundance, richness and diversity, and an increase in evenness of anurans, lizards and snakes. We also expected that herpetofaunal diversity will decrease and evenness will increase in those stages with higher vegetation complexity, such as old-growth forest (OGF), and an increase in similarity and evenness in herpetofaunal assemblages in all successional stages. Overall, the abundance of anurans, lizards and snakes significantly decreased after hurricanes, but only for lizards and anurans the interaction of successional stage-hurricane was significant. Furthermore, species richness and diversity increased for lizards and decreased for snakes after hurricanes landed. Although, the pattern of anuran species richness among successional stages was similar after hurricanes, the richness in OGF markedly diminished after hurricanes.Interestingly our results showed that tropical dry secondary forests, under the impact of low intensity hurricanes, might function as buffers that promote herpetofauna resilience. However, cumulative effects of hurricanes resulted in a homogenization tendency among successional stages, suggesting a negative effect for ecosystem functioning. The changes in the buffering role of secondary forests highlights the importance of these ecosystems for conserving biodiversity in times when hurricane disturbances are increasing in frequency and intensity. Overall, we discuss how the complex interactions between human and natural disturbances such as hurricanes might be a factor that contributes to maintain biotic diversity in anthropic landscapes of tropical dry forests.

New stratigraphically constrained palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the first human settlement in Western Europe: The Early Pleistocene herpetofaunal assemblages from Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Granada, SE Spain)

The Early Pleistocene sites of Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain) have yielded abundant Oldowan lithic artifacts and one hominin tooth (Homo sp. in level D1 or D2 of Barranco León), today considered to be among the earliest evidence for a hominin presence in Western Europe, at ca. 1.4–1.2 Ma. Here, for the first time, the stratigraphic succession of these two sites are studied more precisely from a palaeoenvironmental point of view, taking into account the different levels of the depositional sequences to analyze the successive fossil assemblages of amphibians and reptiles. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are carried out by applying the “habitat weighting” method, which uses the modern distribution by habitat of amphibian and reptile species in order to interpret past landscapes. The successive herpetofaunal assemblages from Barranco León show a certain tendency towards more arid conditions from level D1 to level E, whereas in Fuente Nueva 3 environmental reconstructions reveal oscillating conditions, with a tendency towards more arid conditions in the basal part of the sequence, up to level 5, where the tendency shifts back to more humid conditions. Our results show that the layers included in this study with the highest density of anthropic evidence (such as level 5 in FN 3 and levels D1 and D2 in BL) are situated within the late Early Pleistocene climatic and environmental cyclicity, yielding different environmental conditions: a humid, wooded biotope for BL, and a more open and drier biotope in FN 3. This suggests that the hominins of the late Early Pleistocene, although conditioned to some extent by climatic factors, were able to cope with changing environmental conditions, both “interglacial” and “glacial”, in the southwestern extremity of the European continent.

HERPETOFAUNAL ASSEMBLAGE AND NATURAL HISTORY OF A WETLAND AND PRAIRIE COMPLEX OF THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

Tallgrass prairies are some of the most imperiled ecosystems in North America, yet the herpetofauna found within these habitats are not well known. We studied the herpetofaunal assemblage of the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt and Chichaqua Wildlife Management Area complex (CBG) in Iowa as well as the natural history of Thamnophis species. We found that the CBG housed substantial diversity with seven species of anurans, one species of salamander, three species of turtles, and nine species of snakes. Three Thamnophis species in the CBG differed in body size, diet, and both ambient temperature and time of day at capture. This research contributes to our knowledge of the diversity and natural history of herpetofauna in northern prairies.

A new early Miocene herpetofauna from Kilçak, Turkey

The fauna of amphibians and reptiles (except turtles) from the early Miocene localities of the Kilçak section (Turkey) is described here. The herpetofaunal assemblage of the Kilçak localities is the best documented early Miocene herpetofauna in Anatolia. The following taxa are revealed: Salamandra sp., Latonia sp., Eopelobates sp., Crocodylia indet., Lacertidae indet. (morphotypes A and B), Ophisaurus sp., Anguinae indet., Eoanilius cf. oligocenicus , Bavarioboa sp., Falseryx sp., and Texasophis sp. Among them, Latonia represents the oldest published record of this frog in Anatolia. Its maxilla is sculptured, extending the occurrence of the Latonia lineage with ornamented maxillae to the earliest Miocene, and demonstrating the long coexistence of the Latonia lineages (with smooth and ornamented maxillae), for almost the entirety of the Late Cenozoic. The genera Eopelobates , Eoanilius , and Falseryx are described from Anatolia and Asia for the first time. The booid fauna, being poorly known from this time interval (i.e., the so called «Dark Period» of booid snakes), significantly adds to our knowledge of early Miocene snake assemblages. The snake material from Kilçak indicates a transition from «ancient» late Oligocene to «modern» early-middle Miocene fauna. The widely distributed European taxa recovered in Kilçak, indicate that Anatolia had close faunal links to Europe during the late Oligocene – early Miocene.

Towards a Middle Pleistocene terrestrial climate reconstruction based on herpetofaunal assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula: State of the art and perspectives

The pattern of the varying climatic conditions in southern Europe over the last million years is well known from isotope studies on deep-ocean sediment cores and the long pollen records that have been produced for lacustrine and marine sedimentary sequences from Greece, Italy and the Iberian margin. However, although relative glacial and interglacial intensities are well studied, there are still few proxies that permit quantitative terrestrial temperature and precipitation reconstruction. In this context, fauna-based climate reconstructions based on evidence preserved in archaeological or palaeontological sites are of great interest, even if they only document short windows of that climate variability, because (a) they provide a range of temperature and precipitation estimates that are understandable in comparison with present climate; (b) they may allow the testing of predicted temperature changes under scenarios of future climate change; and (c) quantitative temperature and precipitation estimates for past glacials and interglacials for specific regions/latitudes can help to understand their effects on flora, fauna and hominids, as they are directly associated with those cultural and/or biological events. Moreover such reconstructions can bring further arguments to the discussion about important climatic events like the Mid-Bruhnes Event, a climatic transition between moderate warmths and greater warmths during interglacials. In this paper we review a decade of amphibian- and reptile-based climate reconstructions carried out for the Iberian Peninsula using the Mutual Ecogeographic Range method in order to present a regional synthesis from MIS 22 to MIS 6, discuss the climate pattern in relation to the Mid-Bruhnes Event and the thermal amplitude suggested by these estimates and finally to identify the chronological gaps that have still to be investigated.

The Middle to Late Pleistocene herpetofaunal assemblages from the Jarama and Manzanares valleys (Madrid, central Spain): An ecological synthesis

The successive fossil amphibian and reptile assemblages from the Middle to Late Pleistocene sites from the Manzanares and Jarama River Valleys (Madrid, central Spain) permitted the reconstruction of part of the climate instability with high-amplitude and rapid shifts of the last 450 ka and their associated landscapes: Áridos-1 (MIS11b), Valdocarros II (MIS8a/7e), Estanque de Tormentas de Butarque ETB-H02 (MIS7d or MIS6), PRERESA (MIS7/6 or MIS5a) and HAT (MIS5a). This work aims to present a regional synthesis of the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data obtained from the herpetofaunal assemblages for these two valleys and their influence on the biodiversity during the Pleistocene. As a whole, these archaeo-paleontological localities document a total of 20 taxa (8 anurans and 12 reptiles) thus representing 76.9% of the modern authochtonous herpetofauna of the southeast of the Region of Madrid. Taking as a reference the modern situation in the area, the successive herpetofaunal assemblages permits a hypothetical landscape reconstruction where three different periods are represented with a glacial landscape (ETB-H02), a landscape of transition from cool to temperate climatic conditions (Valdocarros II), and an interglacial landscape (Áridos-1, HAT, PRERESA, and today). Environment is particularly open during dry periods, independently of if it is cold or warm. The main difference between an interglacial and a glacial period is the opposite representation of woodlands vs. moist environments: the last ones being more represented during cold periods than during warm periods. Finally, as documented by the succession from Valdocarros II, periods of transition between cold and warm climate are more forested but at the expense of humid meadows progressively. According to the relation between richness, biodiversity and climatic and environmental factors, a clear correlation appears between reptile richness and woodlands. In a similar way, mean annual precipitation (MAP) is revealed to be the most influent factor on reptile local diversity certainly because of its implications on vegetal cover extension and ecosystem productivity and resources. For amphibians the MAP does not influence dominancy but species richness: anuran richness being higher for lower MAP. Such an unusual pattern is certainly due to the fact that there are no strict forest-dweller anurans within the archaeological assemblages and that most of the anurans present in the sites are well adapted to arid conditions.

Impact of a hurricane on the herpetofaunal assemblages of a successional chronosequence in a tropical dry forest

AbstractLand‐use change is the main cause of deforestation and degradation of tropical forest in Mexico. Frequently, these lands are abandoned leading to a mosaic of natural vegetation in secondary succession. Further degradation of the natural vegetation in these lands could be exacerbated by stochastic catastrophic events such as hurricanes. Information on the impact of human disturbance parallel to natural disturbance has not yet been evaluated for faunal assemblages in tropical dry forests. To evaluate the response of herpetofaunal assemblages to the interaction of human and natural disturbances, we used information of pre‐ and post‐hurricane herpetofaunal assemblages inhabiting different successional stages (pasture, early forest, young forest, intermediate forest, and old growth forest) of dry forest. Herpetofaunal assemblages were surveyed in all successional stages two years before and two years after the hurricane Jova that hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico on October 2011. We registered 4093 individuals of 61 species. Overall, there were only slight effects of successional stage, hurricane Jova or the interaction between them on abundance, observed species richness and diversity of the herpetofauna. However, we found marked changes in estimated richness and composition of frogs, lizards, and snakes among successional stages in response to hurricane Jova. Modifications in vegetation structure as result of hurricane pass promoted particular changes in each successional stage and taxonomic group (anurans, lizards, and snakes). Secondary forests at different stages of succession may attenuate the negative effects of an intense, short‐duration, and low‐frequency natural disturbance such as hurricane Jova on successional herpetofaunal trajectories and species turnover.

Herpetofaunal assemblages of a lowland broadleaf forest, an overgrown orchard forest and a lime orchard in Stann Creek, Belize.

Understanding and monitoring ecological impacts of the expanding agricultural industry in Belize is an important step in conservation action. To compare possible alterations in herpetofaunal communities due to these anthropogenic changes, trapping arrays were set in a manicured orchard, a reclaimed orchard and a lowland broadleaf forest in Stann Creek district at Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (TREES). Trapping efforts were carried out during the rainy season, from June to September, 2016, during which time the study site was hit by a category one hurricane between sampling sessions. Trapping yielded 197 individual herpetofauna and 40 different species overall; 108 reptile captures (30 species) and 88 amphibian captures (ten species). Reptiles and amphibians were more abundant in the lowland broadleaf forest and the manicured orchard area. Amphibian species diversity was relatively similar in each habitat type. Reptile captures were most diverse in the Overgrown Orchard Forest (OGF) and Overgrown Orchard Riparian Forest (OGR) and least diverse in the Lowland Broadleaf Forest (LBF). The findings of this study suggest that reptile and amphibian sensitivity to anthropogenically altered areas is minimal when enveloped by natural habitat buffers, and additionally, that extreme weather events have little impact on herpetofauna communities in the area.

New palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions for the Middle Palaeolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Teruel, eastern Spain) inferred from the amphibian and squamate reptile assemblages

In the eastern Iberian Peninsula, the archaeological site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Teruel, Spain) has produced some of the earliest evidence of Middle Paleolithic stone tool traditions together with evidence of equid and cervid carcasses defleshed by hominins. Based on the numerical age of 317-240 ka derived from OSL, ESR and AAR dating methods for the lower part of the Cuesta de la Bajada sedimentological sequence (level CB3), as well as the biochronological inferences for the small and large mammal associations, the site can be attributed to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 or the end of MIS 9. As amphibians and reptiles have precise environmental and climatic requirements and do not differ at species level from the extant herpetofauna of the Iberian Peninsula, they can contribute to the reconstruction of the landscape and climate. In this paper, the fossil amphibians and squamate reptiles from Cuesta de la Bajada are studied for the first time. The mutual ecogeographic range and habitat weighting methods were applied to the herpetofaunal assemblages to estimate quantitative data for the landscape and climate reconstructions. The climate is shown to have been colder and wetter than today in the interior of eastern Spain, with mean annual temperature up to 2.5 °C lower and mean annual precipitation slightly higher than at present. The monthly climatic reconstruction shows differences in the distribution of precipitation over the course of the year, with more abundant precipitation from late autumn to spring (i.e. from October to May), and more or less similar precipitation to today during the summer months (July and August). This suggests there was stronger rainfall seasonality between winter and summer than currently occurs. The paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on the herpetofaunal assemblage depicts a poorly forested (15–20%) patchy landscape with a large representation of dry meadows and scrubland habitats together with well-evidenced aquatic habitats. These reconstructions are consistent with other proxies recovered at Cuesta de la Bajada (pollen, small and large mammals) as well as other European MIS 8–9 paleoclimatic records. We can thus correlate levels CB2 and CB3 with the later part of MIS 8 (265-257 ka) or with a humid fluctuation within the MIS9b (303-290 ka). It is also possible to provide a new description of the environmental and climatic conditions that occurred in inner Spain during a cold period of the late Middle Pleistocene.

A new middle Pleistocene (Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6) cold herpetofaunal assemblage from the central Iberian Peninsula (Manzanares Valley, Madrid)

AbstractMiddle Pleistocene sites that document glacials are relatively rare in the Iberian Peninsula, and as such, the composition of cold small-vertebrate assemblages is almost unknown in southwestern Mediterranean Europe. The archaeological site Estanque de Tormentas de Butarque H-02 in Villaverde, Madrid, in central Spain, recently attributed to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, provides new data on cold small-vertebrate assemblages. Quantitative climate reconstruction and habitat weighting methods applied to the herpetofaunal assemblage reconstruct the terrestrial climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed in central Spain during the penultimate glacial (MIS 6). During MIS 6, the climate was colder (−3.0°C) and slightly wetter (+122.8 mm) than present in the study area. This confirms that temperature variations were not extreme and precipitation was sufficient in southern Mediterranean Europe for the persistence of temperate trees. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction suggests a large representation of dry environments on the overlying plateau, together with a probable corridor of humid meadows and woodlands along the river where the site is located.

Multiscale analysis of factors influencing herpetofaunal assemblages in early successional stages of a tropical dry forest in western Mexico

The Tropical Dry Forest (TDF) is one of the most highly transformed and threatened neotropical systems in the world and much of its original area has been replaced by secondary forests. Therefore, it is important to understand the process of ecological succession underlying the natural regeneration of TDF, especially the role of early successional stages as drivers of the course of secondary succession. In this study, we investigated the response of herpetofaunal assemblages to vegetation and landscape attributes in areas dominated by early successional stages of TDF. Such response was evaluated in terms of assemblage's composition, richness, taxonomic diversity and functional diversity. We found a high variation in composition, richness and diversity of herpetofaunal assemblages at the initial stages of TDF succession. According to our hypothesis, in general we found the richest herpetofaunal assemblages in sites embedded in the most conserved matrix with higher levels of vegetation cover. Additionally, patch density of forest was also associated to the variation in assemblages' richness. We found high specificity on the response of frogs, lizards and snakes to the surveyed local and landscape attributes. This response involved both taxonomic and functional diversity. This study shows that composition and quality of the surrounding matrix can actually drive the maintenance of herpetofauna species in early successional stages. Considering that these stages greatly influence the course of secondary succession, the natural regeneration of the herpetofauna communities of TDF will depend not only on the local vegetation attributes but also on the initial status of the surrounding matrix. Thus, in order to preserve the resilience of the herpetofaunal assemblages it is important an adequate management of the system, maintaining high levels of the original vegetation in anthropogenic landscapes.

Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758) remains from the Late Pleistocene of Slovakia

Completely preserved specimens of fossil snakes are extremely rare and ophidian palaeontologists are usually dependent only on disarticulated elements of a postcranial skeleton. Here we present an unusually well-preserved specimen of a small viperid snake from the Late Pleistocene firm travertine at the famous Gánovce-Hrádok Neanderthal mound in Slovakia. The complex study of both cranial and axial skeleton with well-preserved maxilla and basiparasphenoid confirms the presence of a viper from theVipera berusspecies group, and recent distribution ofV. berusspecies complex members supports identification of these preserved remains as belonging to the common adder,V. berus(Linnaeus, 1758). Associated faunal assemblages of the MFG-C and D mammalian fauna groups reported from the firm travertine indicate a humid climate in a predominantly woodland environment with typical forest species in the Gánovce-Hrádok vicinity throughout the Eemian optimum, and mixed forest and steppe environments in the late Eemian to early Weichselian stages. Occurrence ofV. berusdocuments the presence of open or semi-open biotopes with low vegetation. AlthoughV. berusoccurs in the Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycle and throughout the entire warm part, it never dominated herpetofaunal assemblages during the climatic optimum. Therefore, the presence ofV. berusmost likely indicates late Eemian or early Weichselian (interstadial) climatic conditions.

Factors influencing herpetofaunal assemblages of aquatic systems in a managed pine forest

Although >12 million ha of southeastern United States are intensively managed pine forest, we have little understanding of biological contributions of aquatic systems embedded in pine plantations. Further, the influence surrounding forest stand structure on assemblages of wetland-associated species in managed forests are poorly understood. To address these gaps, we investigated herpetofaunal assemblages across three ephemeral aquatic system types [unaltered sites (n=16), altered sites (n=18), and roadside ditches (n=19)] embedded in an intensively managed pine landscape in eastern North Carolina, USA. These aquatic systems varied in their disturbance intensity and landscape context. Unaltered sites were avoided by silvicultural activities (set aside), altered sites were actively managed as part of the surrounding plantation, and ditches received maintenance as part of routine forest management. We examined amphibian and reptile species richness and assemblage composition at 53 aquatic sites surrounded by early-, middle-, or late-rotation aged pine plantations. During January–July 2013 and January–June 2014, we detected 34 amphibian and reptile species with visual encounter, dipnet, and call surveys at aquatic sites. We estimated species richness and used Analysis of Similarity to assess differences in species richness and assemblage structure by aquatic system type and stand age class. Amphibian species richness was greatest in unaltered and altered sites but was similar among stand age classes. Reptile species richness was similar among aquatic system types and stand age classes. Analysis of Similarity results revealed that amphibian assemblages were similar among stand age classes but were significantly different among all aquatic systems. Reptile assemblages also were similar among stand age classes but differed between altered sites and roadside ditches. Differences between richness and assemblage results may have been related to low detections of reptiles because our non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis, which only included species with >1 detection, revealed less obvious differences among reptile assemblages by aquatic system type. Despite dramatic variation in disturbance intensity and site-level environmental metrics, we did not find distinct herpetofaunal assemblages among aquatic system types or stand age classes. Our results suggest that aquatic systems in reconfigured landscapes not only support a range of herpetofaunal species, but that amphibian and reptile assemblages are similar across system types.

Fish reduce anuran abundance and decrease herpetofaunal species richness in wetlands

Summary For aquatic herpetofaunal species, two of the possible determinants of density and local species composition are fish presence or absence and hydroperiod; factors which are sometimes, but not always, correlated. We quantified wetland herpetofaunal assemblages in 20 wetlands that varied in both attributes (in south‐eastern Florida, U.S.A.) to examine the effects of fish, wetland permanence and their potential interaction. Fish presence significantly reduced the density of five anuran species and reduced overall species richness. Wetland permanence had no measured effect on composition or richness of herpetofaunal assemblages. Three anuran species (including the imperilled Gopher Frog, Rana capito) were absent from most of the wetlands with fish and capture rates of two larger generalist ranids (Rana grylio, R. sphenocephala) were significantly lower in the presence of fish. No species of anuran was captured more frequently when fish were present. Non‐permanent wetlands are often perceived to be quality anuran habitat, but such a perception may be incorrect for wetlands that rapidly recolonise with fish. Dredging and ditching of otherwise temporary wetlands, and fish stocking, may lead to local, and potentially regional, reductions in anuran breeding habitats, especially for faunal assemblages that lack anurans that thrive when fish are present.

The continental record of Marine Isotope Stage 11 (Middle Pleistocene) on the Iberian Peninsula characterized by herpetofaunal assemblages

ABSTRACTMarine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 in Iberia is documented at three main Acheulean archaeological sites: Gran Dolina (Burgos, Atapuerca), Áridos‐1 (Madrid) and Ambrona (Soria). As the amphibians and reptiles recovered as fossils from these sites are not extinct and their ecology can be directly studied, mutual climatic range and habitat weighting methods have been applied to the herpetofaunal assemblages to estimate climatic and environmental parameters during MIS 11. Compared with today, mean annual temperature varies from +2.7 to +0.3 °C and mean annual precipitation varies from +311.7 to +74.4 mm, suggesting, in accordance with the numerical dates for each locality, a progressive decrease in temperature and rainfall from the fully interglacial conditions of MIS 11c to the end of MIS 11. The presence of woodland areas is also well substantiated throughout the duration of MIS 11, at least during the interglacial and interstadial periods.