Effects of fires and roadkills on the isolated population of Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789 (Reptilia: Testudinidae) in central Montenegro

Abstract

© 2015, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. In general, fires and traffic impose serious threats to wildlife. Chelonians are also gravely affected by these two perils, both directly (many die in fires and on the roads) and indirectly (due to habitat fragmentation and degradation). In the Hermann's tortoise population subjected to capture-mark-recapture (CMR) study we analysed the impacts of fires and road kills. We found that the most vulnerable to both perils were the immatures and adult females, with most fatalities in summer. During the course of our research, along with the reconstruction and widening of a motorway, a rockslide-protective wire mesh was fixed along one section of the road under study. It reduced the number of road kills, but it also acted as a deadly trap for some of the tortoises trying to escape the fast-spreading fire. Here we presented the results of a short survey: in future more time and effort need to be devoted to the given population and its conservation needs.