Determining priority areas for an Endangered cold-adapted snake on warming mountaintops

Abstract

Spatial prioritization in systematic conservation planning has traditionally been developed for several to many species and/or habitats, and single-species applications are rare. We developed a novel spatial prioritization model based on accurate estimates of remotely-sensed data and maps of threats potentially affecting long-term species persistence. We used this approach to identify priority areas for the conservation of the Endangered Greek meadow viper Vipera graeca, a cold-adapted species inhabiting mountaintops in the Pindos Mountains of Greece and Albania. We transformed the mapped threats into nine variables to estimate conservation value: habitat suitability (climate suitability, habitat size, occupancy, vegetation suitability), climate change (future persistence, potential for altitudinal range shift) and land-use impact (habitat alteration, degradation, disturbance). We applied the Zonation systematic conservation planning tool with these conservation value variables as biodiversity features to rank the areas currently occupied by the species and to identify priority areas where the chances for population persistence are highest. We found that 90% of current habitats will become unsuitable by the 2080s and that conservation actions need to be implemented to avoid extinction as this is already a threatened species with a narrow ecological niche. If threats are appropriately quantified and translated into variables of conservation value, spatial conservation planning tools can successfully identify priority areas for the conservation of single species. Our study demonstrates that spatial prioritization for single umbrella, flagship or keystone species is a promising approach for the conservation of species for which few data are available.

Automated image processing for quantitative characterization of grassland vegetation structure: microhabitat selection in threatened meadow and steppe vipers

“…Our results support the role of vegetation structure in microhabitat selection of snakes. While compositional habitat diversity (plant species composition) and estimated cover of vegetation have been reported to influence the occurrence of reptiles (Nemes et al, 2006;Stumpel & van der Werf, 2012), our study confirmed that vertical aspects of vegetation structure can also be important in the habitat selection of reptiles (Mizsei et al, 2020b). For all three viper species studied, HCV and LA were the most important variables, indicating that vipers chose microhabitats where the vertical cover of the grass was higher than average, as measured in random locations.…”

“…Lowland populations of this complex (V. renardi , V. u. rakosiensis , V. u. moldavica ) lost almost all their habitats due to transformation of grasslands to croplands, and populations in Austria, Bulgaria and Moldova have gone completely extinct (Krecsák et al, 2003;Tupikov & Zinenko, 2015;Mizsei et al, 2018a). Alpine populations are threatened by overgrazing and climate change (Mizsei et al, 2020b). Although habitat restoration is increasingly used in reptile conservation (e.g.…”

“…Although habitat restoration is increasingly used in reptile conservation (e.g. Péchy et al, 2015;Triska et al, 2016;Michael et al, 2018), little is known on the efficiency of these actions due to lack of knowledge on vegetation characteristics preferred by target reptiles or due to lack of proper monitoring (Block et al, 2001;Ruiz-Jaen & Aide, 2005;Jellinek et al, 2014;Mizsei et al, 2020b).…”

Hide or die when the winds bring wings: predator avoidance by activity shift in a mountain snake

“…The prey species in this study is Vipera graeca, which is among the least known endangered snake species in Europe (Mizsei et al, 2016). The 17 known populations of V. graeca are found in subalpine meadows above the tree line, between 1,600-2,200 meters above sea level in isolated ranges of the Pindos Mountains in southern Albania and central Greece (Mizsei et al, 2021). V. graeca is the smallest viper of Europe, the body length of adult individuals averages 35-40 cm, with a maximum of 45 cm, and females are larger than than males.…”

Addressing the global snakebite crisis with geo-spatial analyses – Recent advances and future direction

“…In the age of ‘big data’ ( Leonelli, 2014 ; sourcing, processing and analysis of large datasets using information technology) and high performance computing systems, such bias can be greatly reduced using statistical methods that describe species' habitat suitability, referred to as ecological niche models (ENMs; Sillero, 2011 ), should sufficient input data exist. A large suite of ENM methods has evolved over the last two decades, many of which are already extensively used in conservation ( Guisan and Thuiller, 2005 ; Guisan et al, 2013 ; Mizsei et al, 2020 ) and epidemiology of zoonotic diseases ( Escobar and Craft, 2016 ; Escobar et al, 2013 ; Murray et al, 2018 ; Peterson, 2014 ; Soucy et al, 2018 ). ENMs use known occurrence localities and environmental conditions to estimate environmental suitability across the study area and predict potentially occupied habitat ( Fig.…”