Jelka crnobrnja-isailovic

University of Nis | NIS · Department of Biology and Ecology

Rana temporaria is one of the most widespread Palearctic brown frogs. We aimed to clarify distribution pattern of two main genetic clades in the understudied Balkan peninsula by using 16SrRNA and MT-CYTB sequences, already widely applied in analyses of populations from other parts of Europe, while focusing on the broad area along the Morava river (...

Despite decades of molecular research, phylogenetic relationships in Palearctic vipers (genus Vipera) still essentially rely on a few loci, such as mitochondrial barcoding genes. Here we examined the diversity and evolution of Vipera with ddRAD-seq data from 33 representative species and subspecies. Phylogenomic analyses of ∼ 1.1 Mb recovered nine...

Examining tortoises' blood cell parameters in natural populations could be useful for monitoring their health status. The current study examines the blood cell morphology of Eastern Hermann's tortoise in populations inhabiting three distinct locations in Serbia: Čermor, Gonjište, and Kunovica. We analyzed the number and morphometric parameters of d...

Systematic assessments of species extinction risk at regular intervals are necessary for informing conservation action1,2. Ongoing developments in taxonomy, threatening processes and research further underscore the need for reassessment3,4. Here we report the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment, evaluating 8,011 species for the Inter...

Systematic assessments of species extinction risk at regular intervals are necessary for informing conservation action1,2. Ongoing developments in taxonomy, threatening processes and research further underscore the need for reassessment3,4. Here we report the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment, evaluating 8,011 species for the Inter...

The problem of global amphibian declines has prompted extensive research over the last three decades. Initially, the focus was on identifying and characterizing the extent of the problem, but more recently efforts have shifted to evidence-based research designed to identify best solutions and to improve conservation outcomes. Despite extensive accu...

Snakes are ecologically and morphologically plastic organisms that exhibit extensive variations in body size and body condition in response to environmental factors. Documenting inter-population variations is important to describe species comprehensively across their distribution range and to monitor trends over time (e.g. decreasing body condition...

In this paper, the updated checklist of Serbian amphibians and reptiles is presented. The updated checklist of Serbian amphibians and reptiles was compiled from the literature on distribution, taxonomy and phylogeny. The checklist contains 48 autochthonous and two introduced species. Five species underwent taxonomic revisions (Triturus ivanbureschi...

The Meadow and Steppe viper, Vipera ursinii-renardi complex is a well-studied group that is divided into several morphological subspecies. In this study, we combine the analyses of two mitochondrial genes with 9 microsatellite markers to compare both phylogenetic signals. Whereas the signal is similar between both genomes within most subspecies, th...

Snakes are frequently misunderstood and ill-perceived animals. Having in mind the frequent killings of snakes near villages in Serbia as their habitats coincide with agricultural land, we administered questionnaire to the local inhabitants at several localities to evaluate human perception of the snakes with a special reference to Vipera ammodytes....

Climate change would considerably influence survival of a species, especially of ectotherm ones such are snakes. We suppose that, if climate becomes warmer, both the costs and benefits of at least, thermoregulation would change for temperate-zone snakes. In modeling of the suitable habitats for Vipera ammodytes in central Serbia, we found that the...

We present the updated distribution data of the Hyla arborea species complex in Serbia. Hyla arborea inhabits all biogeographic regions, while Hyla orientalis inhabits only the easternmost parts of north-eastern, eastern and south-eastern Serbia. Potential hybrid zone encompasses parts of central and southern Serbia from the Đerdap gorge, over Niš...

Insular populations offer excellent opportunities to study the factors that influence phenotypes. We observed island dwarfism in a widespread snake, the nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes). Island vipers were ~20% smaller than mainland individuals. They also produced fewer and smaller offspring. In snakes, food availability has a positive influenc...

The smooth snake Coronella austriaca (Laurenti, 1768) is distributed across the western Palearctic throughout north‐central, southern Europe and western Asia. So far, only few phylogenetic studies, based on mitochondrial DNA, have been carried out on this species focusing mainly on the Iberian Peninsula and northern Europe, leaving unstudied some o...

Folk beliefs, religion and mythology, created through various cultural influences in Serbia, shaped today's attitudes toward wildlife. In this study we evaluated different levels of ecological awareness and superstition extent related to Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) through a systematized face-to-face questionnaire. The study was conducted...

In these times of aggressive and enormous anthropogenic alterations of freshwater aquatic habitats throughout the Western Balkans, including drying out, pollution or the introduction of invasive species, the value of small water bodies (SWB) as refugia for local amphibians is clearly increasing. A network of SWB could be crucial for the conservatio...

The slow-worm lizards (Anguis) comprise five species occurring throughout most of the Western Palearctic. Although these species are relatively uniform morphologically – with the exception of A. cephallonica, which exhibits a quite unique morphology – they are genetically deeply divergent. Here, we provide detailed distribution maps for each species...

Hydropower plants (HPPs) have a strong environmental impact on freshwater wetlands. Small diversion HPPs (SDHPPs) with 0.1–10 MW of installed power, redirect water from small mountainous rivers into several-kilometer-long tubes, disrupting complex dynamics of local aquatic food webs and their interactions with neighbor terrestrial food webs. It cer...

In this study, we present an updated distribution data of Anguis fragilis complex species in Serbia. The dataset consists of literature and Internet records, coupled with previously unpublished distribution data gathered in the field. Of the two species of the complex, Anguis fragilis is present in the western and southern parts of the country whi...

Two previously known northernmost localities of Sharp-snouted rock lizard in Montenegro were the entrance of the Komarnica Canyon (Nevidio), and the middle part of the Tara River Canyon (village Tepca). It was presumed that Komarnica and Piva canyons were once corridors for the spreading of this species from the Eastern Adriatic sub-Mediterranean a...

The designation of taxonomic units has important implications for the understanding and conservation of biodiversity. Eurasian vipers are a monophyletic group of viperid snakes (Serpentes, Viperinae), currently comprising four genera (Daboia, Macrovipera, Montivipera and Vipera) and up to 40 species. Taxonomic units have been described using a wide...

Macro- and microhabitat preference of Testudo hermanni boettgeri, the eastern subspecies of Hermann’s tortoise, was investigated utilizing modified methodology for the western subspecies which emphasized the importance of habitat heterogeneity preservation. The study objective was to explore the habitat preferences of the eastern subspecies of T. h...

The contemporary biodiversity crisis strongly impacts two groups of vertebrates: amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians face 40% of assessed species being in threatened IUCN categories, while reptiles are doing little better (34% of selected reptiles, e.g., marine turtles, sea snakes, chameleons, crocodiles and alligators). Adequate population studies...

Here we report the unusual case of head scalation pattern of a Vipera ammodytes individual from a local population in western Serbia. Namely, the individual had large dorsal head scales besides the normally present small scales. We did not detect this atypically head scalation in more than thirty years of field work with this species. The presence...

Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was acco...

The nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) is the least studied species of European true vipers, regarding its population ecology and reproductive biology. We rаn capture-recapture (CR) studies on this species during 12 years (2007-2018) on Golem Grad Island (Prespa Lake, North Macedonia). We captured 501 vipers (304 adults, 161 subadults, 36 newborn...

We conducted a comparative (2D landmark-based geometric and traditional) morphometric analysis on tadpoles at early developmental stages. Two species of brown frog ( Rana dalmatina and R. temporaria ) and the common toad ( Bufo bufo ) were involved, all raised in the laboratory from fertilized eggs collected in their natural habitat. Taxonomic iden...

Local resource users can affect the implementation of conservation measures positively or negatively therefore being a powerful conservation factor. Present local folk beliefs, religion and mythology contribute vastly to the formation of attitudes and opinions of the locals towards nature and wildlife.For the purpose of this research, the methodolo...

We monitored the population size of the agile frog ( Ranadalmatina ) and the common toad ( Bufobufo ) from 2011 or 2012, respectively, to the year 2017 at a syntopic breeding site in the vicinity of Belgrade. Adult R.dalmatina population size had minor fluctuations during the years of study (from 351 to 108 frogs). On the contrary, the adult B.bufo...

Seven genetic clades have been recognized within the species Vipera ammodytes (nose-horned viper); however, the precise phylogenetic position of many Balkan populations is unknown. We used Bayesian analysis of the mtDNA sequences from the 16S rRNA mtDNA gene obtained from 47 individuals (26 novel samples sequenced in this study and 21 sequences ava...

A recent paper has suggested that NA2RE, the New Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe, does not provide a reliable basis for ecological niche modelling studies due to errors flagging introductions and missing data for the native range of the pond turtle genus Emys. We point out that the original NA2RE paper already acknowledged that it was no...

Vilardell-Bartino i saradnici ustanovili su da jedinke zapadne podvrste šumske kornjače (T. h. hermanni) biraju različita staništa po sezonama što ukazuje na značaj očuvanja heterogenosti staništa u tom delu areala vrste. Provera postojanja preferencije staništa kod istočne podvrste šumske kornjače (T. h. boettgeri) urađena je primenom iste metodol...

One of the most interesting but elusive members of the European herpetofauna is the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola). It is a small, ground dwelling, predominantly forest living lacertid, for which many ecological and biological data are still missing. Moreover, at least for the western part of the species range (south-eastern Europe) its distri...

The Balkan Peninsula constitutes a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of species richness and endemism. The complex geological history of the Balkans in conjunction with the climate evolution are hypothesized as the main drivers generating this biodiversity. We investigated the phylogeography, historical demography, and population structure of c...

The basin of Lake Skadar with its drainage area represents one of the Balkan Peninsula’s hotspots regarding amphibian and reptile fauna. The value of the batracho- and herpetofauna of the Lake Skadar region is reflected in a rich and diverse composition of species. This is undoubtedly the result of the basin’s specific geographic position and compl...

We studied the thermal biology of the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola) in the peripheral part of its distribution range (westernmost edge of the distribution area). We assessed whether these lizards actively thermoregulate, estimated the accuracy and effectiveness of thermoregulation, and evaluated the thermal quality of the habitat using the st...

This publication was produced within the project: “Fighting Negative Impacts of Tradition on Biodiversity by Education” financed by the Rufford Small Grants Foundation.

Book of Abstracts SFSES 2016

Due to their complex and interesting life cycle and alarming conservation status the Large Blue butterflies have become one of the most studied group of insects in Europe. In Serbia, however, Phengaris teleius has recently been discovered (in the far north of the country) and, since this initial finding, significant efforts have been made to map th...

Both IUCN and European Commission confirmed population declining trend for Vipera ammodytes – the nose-horned viper. Furthermore, this species is protected on the territory of Serbia due its long-term exploitation for venom supply. Nevertheless, published population data on this viper are scarce and mostly the result of projections. Therefore, we c...

We recorded the movements of adult Eastern Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) in a local population situated in a complex forested habitat system. The average total movement range size (TMRS) calculated over three consecutive years was 4.56 ha and 7.53 ha for males and females, respectively. The largest estimated TMRS of male and fema...

This publication was produced within the project "The Influence of Local Folklore and Cultural Heritage on the Conflict between Man and Hermann’s Tortoises (Testudo hermanni) in Serbia”, financed by theRufford foundation.

We analyzed variation in the distribution of eastern Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) in a complex landscape consisting of both natural and human-altered habitats in a temperate climate region in Serbia. Our results indicated nonrandom distribution of tortoises within different habitat types with large and medium effect size for year...

Report of the first observation of scavenging behaviour in the population of Testudo hermanni boettgeri that has been monitored for six years in the village Kunovica near the city of Niš in Serbia. On 31 May 2015 at 10:18 a.m., the adult tortoise was observed while eating a dead European green lizard (Lacerta viridis).

Developmental stability (DS) and canalization are key determinants of phenotypic variation. To provide a better understanding of how postnatal growth is involved in determining the effects of DS and canalization on phenotypic variation, we studied within- and among-individual variation in head shape in ontogenetic series of lizards inhabiting urban...

Morphological and DNA data support that the East Mediterranean snake-eyed skink Ablepharus kitaibelii represents a species complex that includes four species A. kitaibelii, A. budaki, Α. chernovi, and A. rueppellii, highlighting the need of its taxonomic reevaluation. Here, we used Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood methods to estimate the phylogeneti...

List of amphibians in Serbia includes 21 species: 8 species of tailed amphibians (order Urodela) and 13 species of tailless amphibians (order Anura). Research undertaken during year 2015 on the territory of all five municipalities of Niš, the capital of Southeastern Serbia, confirmed presence of 3 species of Urodela (Salamandra salamandra, Lissotri...

12th Symposium on the Flora of Southeastern Serbia and Neighboring Regions, Kopaonik Mt., 2016

Many European frogs and toads are relatively secretive species and except during breeding season, adults can rarely be seen during time-restricted fieldwork. In contrast, their tadpoles are easy to record and could be very useful in a brief biodiversity assessment. It is important to perform quick and accurate taxonomic identification of tadpoles,...

Darevskia praticola differs from the other species of the genus in having a large but disjunct distribution, covering the Balkan and the Caucasus regions. Furthermore, most Darevskia species occupy saxicolous habitats, whereas D. praticola inhabits meadows and forest environments. Here we determine the phylogeographic and phylogenetic relationships...

Animals living in urban areas experience additional stress compared to those inhabiting more natural habitats. This could influence their physical state and ability to cope with parasites. Here, effects of environmental disturbances on body condition and prevalence and load of blood parasites in the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) were invest...

Deliberate tail loss was recorded for the first time in three large whip snakes (Dolichophis caspius) and one dice snake (Natrix tessellata). Observations were made in different years and in different locations. In all cases the tail breakage happened while snakes were being handled by researchers. Pseudoautotomy was confirmed in one large whip sna...

In pristine environments, riparian ecosystems are continuously distributed along large river flows. As ecotones, they harbor more species diversity than ecosystems bordering them from both sides. Along the Sava River flow, riparian ecosystems are discontinuously distributed, being preserved mainly in protected areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and...

Background: Hybridization between incipient species is expected to become progressively limited as their genetic divergence increases and reproductive isolation proceeds. Amphibian radiations and their secondary contact zones are useful models to infer the timeframes of speciation, but empirical data from natural systems remains extremely scarce. H...

When populations experience suboptimal conditions, the mechanisms involved in the regulation of phenotypic variation can be challenged, resulting in increased phenotypic variance. This kind of disturbance can be diagnosed by using morphometric tools to study morphological patterns at different hierarchical levels and evaluate canalization, developm...