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We tracked yearly variation in breeding phenology in relation to weather parameters in a common European toad population from the southeastern part of its range. Phenological data were collected from 2001 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2017 and compared to open-access daily weather data from a nearby weather station. Data analysis revealed no significant effect of weather on initiation of breeding and a negative relationship between mean daily humidity and mean cloud cover on the duration of breeding season (P = 0.03). Further analysis showed a decreasing trend in breeding season humidity in the past 70 years. Our results predict a tendency toward longer toad breeding seasons in years with drier winter/spring. A projected decrease in humidity in this region could prolong toad breeding season, potentially exposing adults to higher predation. Therefore, the scenario of further decline in our study population should be considered and conservation measures planned accordingly.

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 certainly affects local aquatic communities, but it is often neglected that two highly threatened vertebrate groups - amphibians and reptiles - which live in and around these wetlands, could be affected as well. In the Balkan peninsula, a part of Southeastern Europe, SDHPPs recently became very attractive and profitable for potential investors after they were proclaimed as eligible for subsidies from the national budget. As a result, in year 2019, the maximal projected number of SHPPs in the Balkans increased to 4,749. According to the literature data, approximately 28% of amphibian species in the Balkan Peninsula use small rivers and streams in the upper parts of watersheds as feeding, breeding and/or nursery habitats. Additionally, 38% of the total number of reptile species in Europe are registered in the hilly/mountainous areas of the peninsula, and 33% of these species strictly need humid habitats. The attempt of this mini-review is to present the facts which show that SHPPs and DSHPPs, in the way they are currently being installed, present harmful energy solution for the biodiversity of the mountain parts of Balkan peninsula, particularly for local amphibian and reptile populations which rely on lotic aquatic ecosystems and/or humid terrestrial habitats.

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 are missing for many of those species. Additionally, humans often maintain a negative attitude toward amphibians and reptiles that has induced their continuous persecution, deliberate killing, and habitat destruction. In both vertebrate groups, a number of species synthetize complex substances that have a role in antipredator defense and/or immobilization of prey. For example, amphibian skin contains numerous exocrine glands that produce secretions consisting of many complex compounds. Some species or entire families of reptiles have venomous glands that produce active substances, which are transferred through specialized venomous teeth and (mostly) injected into the organism of a potential predator or prey. The human, medicinal, and commercial value of those natural products are reflected, among others, in their application in pharmacology and medicine. Those substances are the result of millions of years of biological evolution, where evolutionary factors have been fine-tuning their biochemical effects. Here we will focus on four widespread European amphibian species (fire- and yellow-bellied toad, common and green toad) and one reptile species (nose-horned viper) that synthesize active substances, with the goal of pointing out the importance of their conservation, not only because of their role in many ecosystems but also because they represent unique natural laboratories that produce potentially valuable remedies for many health problems.

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 female tortoises was 27 ha and 90 ha, respectively. Six females and three males (or 9% and 4%, respectively, of the overall sample) had a movement range size (MRS) greater than 10 ha. Significant differences between male and female MRS were not detected. Body size had no influence on the MRS of individuals in the sample, except on the core movement range size (CMRS) in males. Although the collected data did not enable calculation of the home range in the studied population, the results indicate that the calculated average TMRS of local Hermann tortoises is larger than the average home range in some other populations. Therefore, in the absence of information on the home range size of local adult tortoises, the MRS could be a suitable alternative for planning local species reserves. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS170217013S Received: February 17, 2017; Revised: April 2, 2017; Accepted: April 19, 2017; Published online: April 28, 2017 How to cite this article: Stojadinovic DM, Cubric T, Milosevic ĐD, Jovanovic BLj, Corovic JV, Paunovic M, Crnobrnja-Isailovic JM. Contribution to the knowledge of spatial movements of adult Hermann’s tortoises. Arch Biol Sci. 2017;69(4):671-7.

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 and activity pattern, respectively. Additionally, the tortoises expressed relatively weak preference for habitats modified by human activity (e.g., vineyards, orchards, or gardens). The results suggested that these tortoises preferred some particular habitats more than others when performing specific activities. They also did not exhibit the same distribution pattern among habitats over consequent years. In other words, they were not randomly distributed among habitat types with regard to specific activity or year. The information on preferences in complex habitat systems is important for the conservation management of eastern Hermann’s tortoise and should be considered when planning activities related to sustainable development within the region of study.

In this study, we present updated distribution data for all three brown frog species (Rana spp.) inhabiting Serbia. The data provided consists of newly collected field records and compiled data previously published in literature or via Internet. Of the three species found in Serbia, Rana dalmatina is the most widespread, present in all three altitudinal regions and all biogeographical regions. Rana graeca is confined to Mountain-valley altitudinal region in permanent fastflowing rivers or streams and it reaches its northern range boundaries in Serbia. Rana temporaria is the rarest of the three, with fragmented range restricted to the high mountains or few isolated lowland populations, and in the north-eastern Serbia, it is vicariant with R. graeca in canyons and gorges of montane rivers. The presence of Rana arvalis in Serbia is mentioned in literature but was not confirmed during the subsequent field surveys, so we consider it only as a potential species for the Serbian batrachofauna. The brown frog faunal composition of Serbia is identical to that of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Montenegro, while it is somewhat different from that of Hungary and Romania and the most different from Croatia and Slovenia. Serbian brown frogs belong to European (R. temporaria) and South-European (R. dalmatina, R. graeca) chorotypes. All species of brown frogs present or potentially present in Serbia and their habitats are identified as great conservation priorities.

Considering the need for an up-to-date overview of the distribution and diversity of amphibians of Serbia, we mapped the species distributions upon current, mostly unpublished, faunistic data. Also, we compared batrachofaunas of Serbia and other Balkan countries in terms of species number and zoogeographic batrachofaunistic elements. With its 21 native species (8 urodeles and 13 anurans), Serbia appears to be the second most diverse country in the Balkans. We found three main centres of species richness in Panonnian and Peripannonian Serbia (with 15-17 species per 50 x 50 km square) which signals urgency for their protection. Serbian batrachofauna is most similar to that of the eastern Balkan countries (Bulgaria and Romania). Zoogeographic analysis showed that amphibian fauna of Serbia consists of six chorotypes, with the central-European and southern-European as the most dominant ones.

Intensively researching different populations of elecampane, we are able to present the results of yield achieved during three years' microexperiments (2001, 2002, 2003) realized in non-watering field crop production. Comparing the results of yield, it was concluded that all five populations had higher yield, both fresh and dry elecampane root mass, compared to standard cultivars called "Domaca". The highest yield of 28,617 kg ha"1 of fresh, and 8,301 kg ha"1 of dry root had the population "NS", and it was more than standard. Considerable results were achieved by the population "SZ" (77 % higher yield of fresh mass, and 70 % of dry mass), also the population "BM " (62 % higher yield of fresh mass, and 84 % of dry mass). The lowest yield had the population "SG" and standard cultivars "Domaca", mostly because of late planting in the second study year.