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Maintenance of traditional cultural landscapes largely depends on traditional agricultural practices, which are nowadays in decline as a result of increasingly intensive and mechanised land use. Losing traditional practices may result in impoverishing of picturesque mosaic landscape and biodiversity. This research focuses on land-use changes in two time periods (2002–2008; 2013–2016) and effects of changes reflecting on populations of critically endangered butterfly. False Ringlet, Coenonympha oedippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), is a habitat specialist, which in Slovenia inhabits two geographically distinct contrasting habitats – dry meadows in south-western and wetlands in central Slovenia. We compared nine environmental parameters to assess environmental differences, which shape species habitat; seven parameters significantly differ among the four geographical regions and five among the two habitat types. Four parameters significantly differ (i.e. at least in two regions) when tested for homogeneity, while in dry habitat type all (except slope) were significant and none in wet habitat. Changes in land use in two studied periods lit up two processes: transformation of meadows into agricultural land and overgrowing of the meadows, both processes affecting species severely. We believe that maintaining of traditional landscapes in future could serve as a good conservation practice for this endangered species.

The Slovenian False Ringlet Coenonympha oedippus populations are under serious threat, as in the last two decades have witnessed a sharp decline in population distribution and size due to destruction, fragmentation and/or habitat quality degradation through intensive agriculture, abandonment of use and urbanization. We investigated the genetic diversity and structure of C. oedippus from the entire range of the species in Slovenia. Our results showed that the genetic variation in the Slovenian C. oedippus populations agrees with the geographical structure and the ecotypes previously determined by morphological and ecological data. We confirmed the existence of four genetically divergent and spatially non-overlapping geographical groups (Istria, Karst, Gorica, Ljubljansko barje) and two ecotypes ("wet" and "dry"). Despite small sample sizes due to critically threatened species, the results indicated significant nuclear and mitochondrial genetic diversity within the spatial groups. By gaining new insights into the evolutionary history of the C. oedippus population, we have recommended to consider the Slovenian population as one Evolutionary Significant Unit, and four spatial populations as Management Units for conservation purposes.

The Transphlebotomus subgenus has been drawing attention in last decade due to the uncertain vector capacity and cryptic life history of the group. During a 2015 entomological survey, Phlebotomine flies were collected in western locations of Slovenia, with a total of 22 specimens of the Transphlebotomus subgenus collected. In addition to morphological identifications, we confirmed the presence of Phlebotomus mascittii Grassi, 1908 (Diptera: Psychodidae) by nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. During the study, we found that P. mascittii is most abundant in the area of coastal-karst region of Slovenia, while in rare occasions can also be collected in Northeastern part of the country, near the Austrian border. Vector competence of P. mascitii, like all other member species of the Transphlebotomus subgenus, is unclear, but potential to transmit Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) pathogens or phleboviruses is strongly suspected.

We studied a population of the regionally endangered marsh fritillary butterfly Euphydryas aurinia inhabiting a system of loosely connected dry calcareous grasslands in sub-Mediterranean Slovenia. Our goal was to set the basis for a long-term monitoring of this butterfly in four meadows using mark-release-recapture (MRR). We determined its demographic parameters, dispersal, behaviour and utilization of nectar plants in different quality patches. Total population size was estimated to be approximately 347 males (95% confidence interval: 262-432) and 326 females (95% confidence interval: 250-402), with an unbiased sex ratio. The average lifespans were 6.3 and 8.6 days, respectively. Daily population sizes followed a parabola with marked protandry. Both sexes were relatively highly mobile with both occasionally moving over half a kilometre. The spatial distribution of animals seemed to be associated with patch size, host plant densities and nectar sources, resulting in much higher population densities in the largest patch. Adult behaviour differed between the sexes, with females resting more and flying less than males. Behaviour also changed during daytime and with the progression of the season. Adults were confirmed to be opportunistic feeders, since as many as ten nectar sources were detected. We conclude that demographic parameters differ greatly among regions and habitats, thus conservation aims should be planned accordingly. Although the population studied is apparently in good condition, there are threats that may hamper the long-term persistence of the species in this area: succession, intensification of mowing and overgrazing.

At the southern limit of its range the endangered butterfly Coenonympha oedippus inhabits grasslands (wet, dry) that differ significantly in the abundance of its larval hostplants (wet > dry) and mean annual air temperature (wet < dry). We determined the difference in the wing morphology of individuals in the two contrasting habitats to test whether and how traits associated with wing size, shape and eye like spots vary in the sexes and two ecotypes. We show that sexual dimorphism follows the same (wing size and shape, number of eyespots on forewing) or different (relative area of eyespots on hindwings) patterns in the two contrasting habitats. Irrespective of ecotype, females had larger, longer and narrower wings, and more forewing eyespots than males. Sexual dimorphism in the relative area of eyespots on hindwing was female-biased in the wet, but male-biased in the dry ecotype. Ecotype dimorphism in wing size and the relative area of eyespots on the hindwing is best explained by mean annual air temperature and abundance of host-plants. While ecotype dimorphism in wing size did not differ between sexes, neither in direction (wet > dry) or in degree, in the two sexes the relative area of eyespots on hindwing had opposite patterns (males: dry > wet; females: wet > dry) and was more pronounced in males than in females. The differences in wing shape between ecotypes were detected only in the hindwings of males, with more rounded apex in the dry than in the wet ecotype. We discuss the life-history traits, behavioural strategies and selection mechanisms, which largely account for the sex- and ecotype-specific variation in wing morphology.

Spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias is a widely distributed, highly migratory mesopredatory shark that is extremely sensitive to overexploitation. Because of unregulated targeted and incidental capture and a lack of enforceable management in the Mediterranean Sea, the spiny dogfish subpopulation has declined by at least 50% in the Mediterranean Sea over the past 75–105 years, and is regionally classified as endangered. In this study we sampled 124 spiny dogfish in the northern-most part of the Mediterranean (i.e. the Adriatic Sea) to: (1) assess levels of genetic diversity using 13 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial (mt)DNA (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene); and (2) infer its evolutionary placement while assessing further possible genetic divergence across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins based on ND2. Analysis of mtDNA revealed 12 unique haplotypes and a high level of genetic variation in the Mediterranean region, whereas results from microsatellite markers showed significant genetic heterogeneity and a fine-scale stock structuring involving both sexes. The findings support an Atlantic–South Pacific origin for the spiny dogfish in the Adriatic Sea, with little or no present-day connectivity with the Atlantic population. Consequently, this commercially exploited and regionally endangered coastal shark in the Adriatic Sea should be considered as a separate management unit, with implementation of regional protective management plans.

Fat dormouse is a squirrel-like rodent which is closely tied to deciduous forest ecosystem in southwestern Eurasia. As such it is a valuable indicator of forest survival in refugia during glacial-interglacial periods. Previous phylogeographic analyses uncovered divergent fat dormouse lineages in southern refugia in Italy and the Balkans, but retrieved a surprisingly low overall genetic diversity across the majority of the species’ range. We explored 812 bp long fragment of a cytochrome b (cyt b) gene in ten fat dormice from refugial Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran. We identified 10 new cyt b haplotypes, which generated a total dataset of 28 fat dormouse haplotypes. The phylogenetic reconstruction clustered the new haplotypes into the Iranian lineage which hold a sister position against all other fat dormouse haplotypes from Europe and Asia Minor. The divergence between these lineages suggests a fragmentation event of an ancestral population at 5.76 mya (95% HPD = 3.21–8.92). This early evolutionary divergence was possibly triggered in the Middle East by dramatically divergent environmental conditions at the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The divergence clearly exceeds the intraspecific divergence, and is well within the range between congeneric rodent species. We suggest a long-term persistence of the Iranian lineage in the Hyrcanian refugium which is consitent with a high number of endemics along the southern Caspian coastal areas.

The Bukovina blind mole rat Spalax graecus is the westernmost representative of the genus and one of the least known European mammals. As currently under- stood, the species contains three isolates on both sides of the south-eastern Carpathian Mountains. Our focus was on Bukovina blind mole rats from north- eastern Romania and adjacent Ukraine, i.e. on the nominal subspecies Spalax graecus graecus Topachevskii 1976. 2. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on 1140-bp-long cytochrome b sequence revealed a sister position of Spalax graecus against the genus Nannospalax. Pair- wise Kimura two-parameter genetic divergences were evidently higher between Spalax graecus and the three species of Nannospalax (mean distances standard errors between 0.177 0.014 and 0.197 0.016) than between the three species of Nannospalax (up to 0.128 0.010). The two genera were separated by 178 mutational steps. 3. The Bukovina blind mole rat is so far known from 13 localities in north- eastern Romania and adjacent Ukraine. 4. The most influential environmental factors in the Spalax graecus habitat model were seasonality in precipitation, type of soil and altitude. The elevational range of suitable habitats is 39-848 m. The area occupied is estimated at 15581 km 2 , but patches with high habitat suitability cover only 1604 km 2 . 5. The main habitat for the Bukovina blind mole rat is likely to degrade and the conservation needs of the species will soon have to be taken into account. We rec- ommend the inclusion of the species on Annex II or IV of the European Union's Habitats Directive on grounds of its (i) narrow endemism, (ii) small range of occupancy, (iii) small overall population size and (iv) vulnerability to changes in agricultural land use. bs_bs_banner

WOS: 000326495800008, We addressed the species taxonomy of five-toed jerboas (Allactaga, subgenus Paralactaga) in the Middle East by applying molecular markers (cytochrome b and a partial 16S rRNA). The study consisted of 17 specimens from eight localities in the Middle East, representing both species: Allactaga euphratica and Allactaga williamsi. The phylogenetic reconstructions yielded three highly divergent lineages, which failed to conform to the recent taxonomy of Paralactaga. The first lineage (williamsi lineage) encompassed all the samples of A. williamsi from Turkey and Iran and also the specimens of A. euphratica from Lebanon. The haplotypes of A. euphratica were arranged into two lineages, which showed strong geographic associations. One lineage contained samples from Harran in Turkey and from Iran, while all the samples from Syria clustered in another lineage. The pairwise Kimura two-parameter values suggested similar divergences between the three lineages and were within the range reported for a sister species of rodents. Our results point to a cryptic species in A. euphratica and also provide evidence of the expanded range of A. williamsi further south to Lebanon.