Effects of Fires and Roadkills on the Isolated Population of Testudo hermanni Gmelin , 1789 ( Reptilia : Testudinidae ) in Central Montenegro

In general, fires and traffic impose serious threats to wildlife. Chelonians are also gravely affected by these two perils, both directly (many die in fires and on the roads) and indirectly (due to habitat fragmentation and degradation). In the Hermann’s tortoise population subjected to capture-mark-recapture (CMR) study we analysed the impacts of fires and road kills. We found that the most vulnerable to both perils were the immatures and adult females, with most fatalities in summer. During the course of our research, along with the reconstruction and widening of a motorway, a rockslide-protective wire mesh was fixed along one section of the road under study. It reduced the number of road kills, but it also acted as a deadly trap for some of the tortoises trying to escape the fast-spreading fire. Here we presented the results of a short survey: in future more time and effort need to be devoted to the given population and its conservation needs.

[1]  D. Pilliod,et al.  Amphibian Responses to Wildfire in the Western United States: Emerging Patterns from Short-Term Studies , 2011 .

[2]  E. McCoy,et al.  Fire alters patterns of genetic diversity among 3 lizard species in Florida Scrub habitat. , 2011, The Journal of heredity.

[3]  J. Pausas,et al.  Successional trends in standing dead biomass in Mediterranean basin species , 2011 .

[4]  F. Beaudry,et al.  Identifying road mortality threat at multiple spatial scales for semi-aquatic turtles , 2008 .

[5]  J. Tash,et al.  An Approach Toward Understanding Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions , 2008, Environmental management.

[6]  Lawrence Barnthouse,et al.  Population-Level Ecological Risk Assessment , 2007 .

[7]  S. Petrie,et al.  Incidence of Intentional Vehicle–Reptile Collisions , 2007 .

[8]  L. Kiss,et al.  High resilience of Mediterranean land snail communities to wildfires , 2006, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[9]  W. Boarman,et al.  A highway's road-effect zone for desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) , 2006 .

[10]  M. Wink,et al.  Environmentally caused dwarfism or a valid species--is Testudo weissingeri Bour, 1996 a distinct evolutionary lineage? New evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genomic markers. , 2005, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution.

[11]  Christopher Ross,et al.  Spotted Turtle Use of a Culvert Under Relocated Route 44 in Carver, Massachusetts , 2005 .

[12]  James P. Gibbs,et al.  Effects of Roads on the Structure of Freshwater Turtle Populations , 2004 .

[13]  M. Aresco.  HIGHWAY MORTALITY OF TURTLES AND OTHER HERPETOFAUNA AT LAKE JACKSON, FLORIDA, USA, AND THE EFFICACY OF A TEMPORARY FENCE/CULVERT SYSTEM TO REDUCE ROADKILLS , 2003 .

[14]  K. Nagy,et al.  Sex divergence in space utilisation in the steppe tortoise (Testudo horsfieldi) , 2003 .

[15]  Kevin M. Enge,et al.  A PEDESTRIAN ROAD SURVEY OF AN UPLAND SNAKE COMMUNITY IN FLORIDA , 2002 .

[16]  James P. Gibbs,et al.  Estimating the Effects of Road Mortality on Turtle Populations , 2002 .

[17]  A. Hailey,et al.  Home range area in the tortoise Testudo hermanni in relation to habitat complexity: implications for conservation of biodiversity , 2001, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[18]  B. Ebenman,et al.  Are certain life histories particularly prone to local extinction? , 2001, Journal of theoretical biology.

[19]  T. Lodé.  Effect of a Motorway on Mortality and Isolation of Wildlife Populations , 2000 .

[20]  A. Hailey.  The effects of fire and mechanical habitat destruction on survival of the tortoise Testudo hermanni in northern Greece , 2000 .

[21]  Richard Shine,et al.  The dangers of leaving home: dispersal and mortality in snakes , 1999 .

[22]  J. Clobert,et al.  Conservation measures for a population of Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni in southern France bisected by a major highway , 1997 .

[23]  M. Delibes,et al.  Use of Non-Wildlife Passages Across a High Speed Railway by Terrestrial Vertebrates , 1996 .

[24]  W. Boarman,et al.  HIGHWAY MORTALITY IN DESERT TORTOISES AND SMALL VERTEBRATES: SUCCESS OF BARRIER FENCES AND CULVERTS , 1996 .

[25]  J. Diemer.  Demography of the tortoise Gopherus polyphemus in northern Florida , 1992 .

[26]  M. Cheylan,et al.  Testudo hermanni (Gmelin 1789) – Hermann’s Tortoise , 2012 .

[27]  X. Bonnet,et al.  Sexual body size and body shape dimorphism of Testudo hermanni in central and eastern Serbia , 2011 .

[28]  Testudo Graeca,et al.  Road mortality of amphibians and reptiles in the Anatolian part of Turkey , 2011 .

[29]  Juli G. Pausas,et al.  Fire regime changes in the Western Mediterranean Basin: from fuel-limited to drought-driven fire regime , 2011, Climatic Change.

[30]  M. Cheylan,et al.  Impacts of a wildfire on the mortality rate and small-scale movements of a Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni population in southeastern France , 2011 .

[31]  M. Cheylan,et al.  Breeding traits of Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni in two western populations , 2007 .

[32]  R. Shine,et al.  Sexual Segregation in Vertebrates: Ecological divergence between the sexes in reptiles , 2006 .

[33]  M. Fasola,et al.  Activity and home range of Testudo hermanni in Northern Italy , 2002 .

[34]  W. Boarman.  Threats to Desert Tortoise Populations : A Critical Review of the Literature , 2002 .

[35]  D. Swann,et al.  QUANTIFYING WILDLIFE ROAD MORTALITY IN SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK , 1998 .

[36]  J. Spotila,et al.  BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO BARRIERS BY DESERT TORTOISES: IMPLICATIONS FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT , 1994 .

[37]  G. Dalrymple,et al.  Seasonal activity and road mortality of the snakes of the Pa-hay-okee wetlands of Everglades National Park, USA , 1992 .

[38]  A. Hailey.  How far do animals move? Routine movements in a tortoise , 1989 .

[39]  I. Swingland,et al.  The ecology of the mediterranean tortoise Testudo hermanni in northern Greece (the effects of a catastrophe on population structure and density) , 1985 .

[40]  A. Hailey,et al.  Population Ecology of European Tortoises: Review of Field Techniques , 1984 .

[41]  M. Cheylan.  The true Status and Future of Hermann's Tortoise Testudo hermanni robertmertensi WERMUTH 1952 in Western Europe , 1984 .