Amphibians and Reptiles of the Mediterranean Basin Amphibians and Reptiles of the Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean basin is one of the most geologically, biologically, and culturally complex region and the only case of a large sea surrounded by three continents. The chapter is focused on a diversity of Mediterranean amphibians and reptiles, discussing major threats to the species and its conservation status. There are 117 amphibians, of which 80 (68%) are endemic and 398 reptiles, of which 216 (54%) are endemic distributed throughout the Basin. While the species diversity increases in the north and west for amphibians, the reptile diversity increases from north to south and from west to east direction. Amphibians are almost twice as threatened (29%) as reptiles (14%). Habitat loss and degradation, pollution, invasive/alien species, unsustainable use, and persecution are major threats to the species. The important conservation actions should be directed to sustainable management measures and legal protection of endangered species and their habitats, all for the future of Mediterranean biodiversity.


Introduction
The Mediterranean basin is one of the most geologically, biologically, and culturally complex region and the only case of a large sea surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa. The Basin was shaped by the collision of the northward-moving African-Arabian continental plate with the Eurasian continental plate which occurred on a wide range of scales and time in the course of the past 250 mya [1].
The Basin stretches approx. 3800 km east to west from the tip of Portugal to the shores of Lebanon and 1000 km north to south from Italy to Morocco and Libya (Figure 1) [1,2]. It covers the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and includes partly or entirely 30 countries which are spread across 3 continents. It also includes 11,879 islands and islets [3].
The Mediterranean region is considered to be 1 of 34 biodiversity hotspots due to its high level of floristic endemism [4] as well as the largest of the world's 5 Mediterranean-climate regions. The region flora includes more than 25,000 vascular plants while half of them are endemic [1,2]-in other words, they are found nowhere else in the world.
The geographic structure of the Basin is an important factor in understanding its biodiversity. While coastal areas are extensive due to the presence of numerous archipelagos and islands, much of the area consists of mountainous terrain with many areas above 2000 m elevation and peaks as high as 4500 m [2,3,5]. The Mediterranean region consists of various landscapes such as high mountains, rocky shores, impenetrable scrub, semi-arid steppes, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches, and myriad islands of various shapes and sizes [1,2].
The status and distribution of Mediterranean herptiles has been evaluated by Cox et al. [5] 9 years ago. The purpose of this chapter is to re-evaluate amphibian and reptile diversity and to discuss the major threats and conservation status of Mediterranean herptiles. The Amphibia Web [6] and The Reptile Database [7] were used for determining Mediterranean herptile list. Major threats and conservation status of species for the IUCN Red List of threatened species [8] are also addressed.

Amphibian and reptiles diversity
Amphibians (Amphibia) and reptiles (Reptilia) are two fascinating but poorly understood group of vertebrates, distributed around the world. For the time being, there are 7655 amphibian [6] and 10,450 reptilian [7] species recorded. Unfortunately, many amphibian and reptile species are threatened and declining all-around the world. Habitat loss and degradation, introduced invasive species, environmental pollution, disease and parasitism, unsustainable use, and global climate change are major threats on species [6,7]. There are 117 amphibian species and 398 reptile species, and most of them are endemic distributed throughout the Basin ( Table 1)

Amphibian diversity
The amphibian fauna of the Mediterranean basin represents two orders: salamanders (Caudata) and anurans (Anura). A total of 117 amphibian species are found and 80 (68%) of them are endemic in the Basin (Table 2, Figure 1).
A total of 49 salamander species are present in this Region and 65% of them are endemic. The Salamandridae is the most diverse family. A total of 18 species with 7 genera (Calotriton, Chioglossa, Euproctus, Ichthyosaura, Lyciasalamandra, Pleurodeles and Salamandrina) are endemic to the Basin ( Table 2). The only single member of Proteidae, Proteus anguinus, is present in the Balkan Peninsula and is endemic to the Basin. The other six members of the family are found in eastern North America.
The anurans have 68 species and 70% of them are endemic to the Region. The families Alytidae, Bufonidae and Ranidae consist of 75% of the group. A fascinating species of midwife   The amphibian diversity is highest in Europe, especially in areas of higher rainfall, notably in northern Italy, France, western and northern Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Croatia (Figure 1, Table 3) [5]. On the contrary, the diversity is much lower in the eastern and southern parts of the Basin where there are large arid and semiarid habitats. The higher amphibian diversity is observed in European countries of the western Mediterranean, especially in Italy, France and Spain [5]. The amphibian richness increases from south to north and from east to west of the Basin [1]. The reason lies in larger areas of humid habitats in the north and west of the Basin, which are an ideal habitat for amphibians.
The reptile diversity is the highest in the eastern part of the Basin, particularly in southern Turkey, Lebanon, south-western Syria, Israel/Palestine, Jordan and parts of northern Egypt [5].    The species diversity is much higher in North Africa than in western Europe. The reptile diversity of North Africa is the highest in the mountainous area, in semi-arid regions along the northern margins of the Sahara and in the Nile Valley. The Balkans has much higher reptile diversity than elsewhere in Europe. At the other hand, the diversity is very low in northern Europe [5]. In contrast to amphibians, the species diversity of the reptiles increases from north to south and from west to east, along with gradients of the extent to which arid and semi-arid habitats are present [1,5].

Conservation status of Mediterranean amphibians
About 29% of Mediterranean amphibians are globally threatened, while 5% are critically endangered, 11% endangered and 13% vulnerable (Figures 3-5). Rest of the species are evaluated as near threatened (15%), least concerned (49%), data deficient (<1%) and 7% is not evaluated. The salamanders and newts have higher share of threatened species (20 species, 17%). Among frogs and toads, 13 species (11%) are globally threatened. One of the endangered species is the Hula painted frog, Latonia nigriventer, from Israel/Palestine that is listed as extinct up to 2004. The species is restricted to an area under 2 km 2 due to heavy predation pressure by the waterbird populations [13]. The newts and salamanders have higher number of threatened species than frogs and toads ( Table 5) [5].

Conservation status of Mediterranean reptiles
About 13% of Mediterranean reptiles are globally threatened (51 species), out of which 3% is critically endangered, 6% endangered and 4% vulnerable. A total of 347 species are assessed   as near threatened (10%), least concerned (60%), data deficient (4%) and 13% is not evaluated (Figures 3, 6 and 7).  38 species considered threatened. Snakes have only seven threatened species (2%). The endemic lizard genus Gallotia occurs only on the Canary Islands and consist of eight species. The genus has evolved there almost 20 mya, ever since the first islands emerged from the sea [11,12]. They are adapted to eating significant quantities of plants. The overall share of threatened amphibians in the Mediterranean basin is as twice higher (29%) than that for reptiles (14%).

Major threats
The Mediterranean basin is the second largest biodiversity hotspot in the world. It covers more than 2 million km 2 . The Basin stretches west to east from Portugal to Lebanon and north to south from Italy to Morocco and Libya [2]. The Region is home to approx. 455 million people, from a wide variety of countries and cultures for some 8000 years [2,10] The Gross National Income per capita in the Mediterranean EU countries being 10 times that of the north African ones [10]. The poor countries mostly depend on natural resources and this threatens natural resources at high levels. Besides, economic development increases the pressures on natural resources, the conservation challenges and options of the Basin are driven by these economic inequalities [10]. Species provide us with essential services as not only food, fuel, clothes and medicine, but also purification of water and air, prevention of soil erosion, regulation of climate, pollination of crops by insects and much more [10]. Many threats come up thanks to these entries. The human-induced factors threaten the Mediterranean biodiversity and nature more than any other biological 'hotspot' [10]. Fifty-three percent of amphibians and 20% of reptiles are suffering from "residential & commercial developments" (Figure 8). Urbanization, industrial areas, tourism and recreation areas negatively affected the herptile species. Another important factor is "agriculture and aquaculture" activities and almost half of the species (59% for amphibians and 25% for reptiles) are affected by such activities. Along with the increase of human population, the food needs are also increasing day by day. The expansion of agricultural areas, livestock farming, overgrazing, aquaculture and mariculture activities are causing habitat loss and degradation and intervening in the food webs.
One of the biggest contemporary concerns is the growing need for energy as well as the need for nutrients and technological developments. The most basic resource used to meet the growing energy needs is still natural resource. Among natural resources, fossil fuels and mines are used most commonly. Use of renewable energy sources as alternative energy sources are not reached desired level. The "energy production and mining" activities have low effect on Mediterranean herptiles (6% for amphibians and 5% for reptiles).
Another problem brought by urbanization and population increase is in the construction of roads, especially narrow transport corridors cause wildlife mortality. Besides, these corridors create specific stress to biodiversity by fragmentation of the habitats and lead to other threats including farms, invasive species and poachers. The "transportation and service corridors" activities have low effect on amphibians (9%) and reptiles (6%).
Unsustainable harvesting, hunting and fishing activities are directly or indirectly affecting the amphibians and reptiles. Some species are used in traditional medicine, food and pet trade. The threats are driven by destroying or declining natural populations [10]. The amphibians (37%) and reptiles (22%) are densely used as "biological resource use" for many purposes. Almost half of salamanders and snakes are suffering from commercial purpose and persecution. The Mediterranean marine turtle species are severely affected by accidental capture in fishing gear, also called as "bycatch" [10].
Besides, "human intrusions and disturbance" have low pressure on amphibians (4%) and reptiles (4%). While "natural system modifications" severely affect the amphibians (32%), it has low pressure on reptiles (9%). The dam construction, for water management or use, and other ecosystem modifications make significant pressure on natural herptile populations. Forest fires are deliberately excluded to open such areas, especially in the Mediterranean region in Turkey, it is observed that these activities have been carried out in the summer. The endemic Lyciasalamandra species living in this Region are highly affected by forest fires. In addition to the destruction of the area for the construction of the dams, the alteration of the water flow direction of the rivers disturbs the natural habitat areas, especially amphibians are highly affected due to degradation and reducing habitat quality.
Non-indigenous animal species, pathogens and genes are appearing as major threatening factors to biodiversity being the process that is expected to continue in the future. Mediterranean amphibians (34%) are more affected by "invasive and/or problematic species, pathogens, and genes" than reptiles (4%). The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus or Rana catesbeiana) is one of the invasive species in western Europe. Another invasive species, Trachemys scripta, is popular in the pet trade and has been introduced into the Mediterranean region by people releasing it to the wild.
The amphibians (59%) are more sensitive to "pollution" than reptiles (4%). Many chemical pollutants are increasing sensitivity to illness and mortality rates and reducing the reproductive success [10]. Domestic/industrial waste carries pollution to the sea and rural areas through rivers and sewage systems, in particular. Pollutants that cause water pollution from agricultural, silvicultural and aquaculture systems containing foodstuffs, toxic chemicals and sediments also pollute natural habitats as well as agricultural areas. Apart from these pollutants, trash and soil pollutants and even atmospheric pollutants are serious threat to species.
Today, global "climate change" emerges as a factor that affects the changing nature of natural habitats. Temperature fluctuations (changing in temperature extremes, increasing average summer temperatures and reducing winter/spring temperatures) cause the alteration of habitats, breeding phenology and host-parasite relationship of herptile species. Mediterranean amphibians (18%) are more affected by global climate change than reptiles (3%).
Mediterranean amphibians and reptiles are affected by these major threats (habitat loss and degradation, invasive alien species, harvesting, pollution natural disasters, disease, human disturbance, vehicle collusion and persecution) (Figures 8 and 9) [5]. While the most common threats for amphibians are habitat loss and degradation, pollution and invasive alien species, the most common ones for Mediterranean reptiles are habitat loss and degradation, harvesting and persecution [5]. On the other hand, there is no major threat for about 10% amphibians and 21% reptiles in the Mediterranean.

Conservation
The major threats to amphibians and reptiles in the Mediterranean are quite different from each other [5]. Therefore, each group needs specific conservation activities. Island species particularly need urgent conservation studies. Although amphibians (especially salamanders) have a high tendency to be threatened, and reptiles much less so, there are many more reptile species on the edge of extinction in the Region than amphibians [5,9]. Several methods can be applied by scientists in order to protect species. Land/water protection and management, species management, education and raising awareness, and monitoring and research are major actions for Mediterranean herptiles [10,14].

Land/water protection and management
The Mediterranean region is densely populated and more than 30% of all international tourists visit its coastal areas [15], thus direct disturbance by humans is an important threat to natural resources [10]. The Region is also considered as the cradle of Europe's civilization and one of the most important centers of crop plants origin [2]. However, the traditional farming practices have been abandoned in recent years in favor of intensive and industrial-scale farming methods [2].
The area conservation and management are important for endemic and threatened species with high risk status. "Land/water management" include many different types of actions such as conserving or restoring habitats and controlling invasive/problematic species. The tourism, urbanization, deforestation, intensive farming, overgrazing and fires are causing habitat loss for many threatened species. Therefore, site protection and management has crucial importance for sustainability of the threatened amphibians and reptiles.

Species protection and management
Improvement and enforcement of legal protection for threatened species and their habitats is the most urgent conservation action to be taken at both regional and national levels [5]. Species Action Plans can be an effective means for determining the specific conservation actions that are needed and for promoting coordinated activities. The primary goal of species conservation is the preservation of viable populations of wild species in their original native range [10]. Another solution could be captive breeding studies for endangered species close to extinction as part of intensive management activities. Besides, measures to be taken in conjunction with legal regulations are essential for the sustainability of protected areas. All countries should have endangered species red list database along with IUCN Red List to determine conservation priorities.

Education and awareness raising activities
There is no way of protecting a species or effective conservation without support of local people. The education and raising awareness have important role for an effective conservation activity. Collaboration between regional actors such as locals, farmers, landowners, NGOs and policy-makers should enhance conservation efforts to prevent biodiversity loss [10].
An official undergraduate program could enhance the knowledge and skills of students for environmental conservation. Additionally, creating a high school environmental course could be useful in terms of raising awareness. Increasing the exchange of knowledge, skills and knowledge in structured settings outside their undergraduate programs could be an effective way to reach outside of normal learning for practitioners, stakeholders and other interested people.

Monitoring and researches
Monitoring and inventory surveys on the endangered amphibians and reptiles will be helpful for identifying threats and create key activities for protection of the species. The main topics could be determining population/community trends, habitat quality, modeling climate change impacts and attitudes of local populations.

Conclusion
The Mediterranean basin's biodiversity are facing many pressures and urgent action is required to preserve its future. Fortunately, many stakeholders such as regional and governmental organizations, NGOs, scientists and conservation practitioners are cooperating to preserve Mediterranean natural resources. The key conservation actions should be focused on sustainable management and legal protection of endangered species and their habitats [10]. Besides, it is not possible to deny importance of education, awareness-raising activities and monitoring studies for sustainability of Mediterranean amphibians and reptiles.