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Biases in snake venom research have been partially identified but seldomly quantified. Using the Google Scholar web search engine, we collected a total of 267 articles published between 1964 and 2021, and reviewed them to assess the main trends in this field of study. We developed a 4-category classification of the harmful potential of each of the 298 snake species retrieved from the analysed publications, and tested whether taxonomy, realm of origin, and/or assigned hazard category could affect how often each of them appeared in the articles considered. Overall, viperids were significantly more represented than any other snake taxon retrieved. The Neotropics were the most represented biogeographic realm for number of studied species, whereas information about the country of origin of the analysed specimens was often incomplete. The vast majority of the publications focused on snake venom characterisation, whereas more ecology-related topics were rarely considered. Hazard category and biogeographic realm of origin of each species had a significant effect on the number of articles dedicated to it, suggesting that a snake’s harmful potential and place of origin influence its popularity in venom studies. Our analysis showed an overall positive trend in the number of snake venom studies published yearly, but also underlined severe neglect of snake families of supposedly minor medical relevance (e.g., Atractaspididae), underrepresentation of some of the areas most impacted by snakebite (i.e., Indomalayan and Afrotropic realms), and limited interest in the ecological and functional context of snake venom.

Background Understanding how phenotypic variation scales from individuals, through populations, up to species, and how it relates to genetic and environmental factors, is essential for deciphering the evolutionary mechanisms that drive biodiversity. We used two species of Podarcis wall lizards to test whether phenotypic diversity within and divergence across populations follow concordant patterns, and to examine how phenotypic variation responds to genetic and environmental variability across different hierarchical levels of biological organization, in an explicit geographic framework. Results We found a general concordance of phenotypic variation across hierarchical levels (i.e. individuals and populations). However, we also found that within-population diversity does not exhibit a coherent geographic structure for most traits, while among-population divergence does, suggesting that different mechanisms may underlie the generation of diversity at these two levels. Furthermore, the association of phenotypic variation with genetic and environmental factors varied extensively between hierarchical levels and across traits, hampering the identification of simple rules to explain what yields diversity. Conclusions Our results in some cases comply with general ecological and evolutionary predictions, but in others they are difficult to explain in the geographic framework used, suggesting that habitat characteristics and other regulatory mechanisms may have a more substantial contribution in shaping phenotypic diversity.

AIM: Climate change assessments are largely based on correlative species distribution models (SDMs) that are sensible to spatial biases or incompleteness of input distribution data. We tested whether changes on the species' climatic niche resulting from recent human‐induced range contractions have a significant influence on SDM predictions of future species distributions. LOCATION: Africa. METHODS: For this study, we selected two highly detectable species with acknowledged human‐induced range contractions, namely the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). We used presence data until the 1970s to describe each species' historical distribution, while more recent data characterized the contemporary distribution. We compared the temporal variation between these species distributions using multivariate analyses and the combination of four different SDM algorithms to predict historical, contemporary and future distributional ranges under climate change scenarios. RESULTS: We show how range contraction differentially reduces the climatic variability associated with the species niche and has an important influence on the predictions of suitable climatic space and species vulnerability trend under climate change scenarios. Future predictions of the distribution of the elephant were mainly affected by the loss of occupied area at the margins of the historical distributions, resulting in a lesser predicted extent when using the contemporary dataset. As for the giraffe models, there were more dramatic consequences with large areas of West Africa failing to be predicted as suitable in the contemporary models, probably as a result from the loss of climatic information due to the species almost complete disappearance from that region. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the importance of considering historical distributional ranges of species in climate change studies in order to account for their full climatic niche and to derive more reliable predictions of future distribution. This is particularly important in species for which distributional ranges have been strongly affected by human activities.

Aim Climate variability is a major force affecting diversification processes and restricting species to specific areas, and thus, it has important impacts on species biogeographic patterns. This study aims to infer the role of climate in the evolutionary history of the endemic Iberian adder Vipera seoanei. Location Northern Iberian Peninsula and south-western France. Methods We combined genetic analyses with ecological niche-based modelling. Genetic analyses, based on sequencing of mitochondrial markers (cyt b, ND4), include phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses, spatial interpolations of genetic variability and diversity, and identification of putative geographical origin of the most recent common ancestor of the species. Ecological modelling involved the combination of six modelling algorithms and projections to past conditions (Last Interglacial – LIG, Last Glacial Maximum – LGM) and the identification of climatic stable areas. Results The species shows a shallow phylogeographic structure, dated at middle-upper Pleistocene, and low haplotype diversity, with the highest genetic diversity located in north-western Iberia. This region is identified as the putative origin of the ancestral populations. Projections to past periods spatially fit genetic results, indicating range contractions to north-western Iberia during the LIG and expansions during the LGM. Main conclusions This study exemplifies how the combination of phylogeographic and ecological niche-based models is a powerful tool for inferring evolutionary scenarios and responses of species to Pleistocene climatic oscillations. Vipera seoanei responded accordingly to a cold temperate model and fits a simplified example of 'R' type species where interglacial warming periods during the Pleistocene probably caused major range reductions with persistence in a single refuge in north-western Iberia. The single mtDNA lineage observed in this study does not support the differentiation at subspecific level in V. seoanei. Our work highlights the importance of climate in explaining evolutionary processes and current biogeographical patterns of species with restrictive ranges.

Doñana (southern Spain), a region of notable biodiversity richness, is highly threatened by ongoing landscape transformation and climate change. We investigated the local effect of these anthropogenic factors on the temporal range dynamics of Lataste’s viper (Vipera latastei), an Iberian endemic Mediterranean reptile that has apparently become rare over the years in Doñana. Using ecological niche-based models, based on climatic and remote sensing variables, we analyzed historical (1959–1999) and contemporary (2000–2022) records of the species to assess range shifts and identify environmental factors that may influence them. Our results show that V. latastei is mostly restricted to the coastal region of Doñana and that one temperature variable is the most important factor explaining this distribution pattern in both periods. Additional climatic and vegetation variables play a role in its historical distribution, but they become less important in contemporary times, suggesting a niche simplification over time. We found 30.5% of reduction in the species suitable area from historical to contemporary conditions, a reduction that would be even greater (83.37%) in the absence of niche shift. These findings underscore the species’ heightened vulnerability to ongoing environmental changes and highlight the urgent need for targeted conservation strategies.

Understanding heritability patterns in functionally relevant traits is a cornerstone for evaluating their evolutionary potential and their role in local adaptation. In this study, we investigated patterns of heritability in the head shape of the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis). To this end, we used geometric morphometric data from 12 families composed of 8 mothers, 6 fathers and 221 offspring, bred in captivity at the Hungarian Meadow Viper Conservation Centre (Hungary). We separately evaluated maternal and paternal contributions to the offspring phenotype, in addition to additive genetic effects, all determined using a mixed animal model. Our results indicate a strong genetic and maternal contribution to head shape variations. In contrast, the paternal effects—which are rarely evaluated in wild-ranging species—as well as residual environmental variance, were minimal. Overall, our results indicate a high evolutionary potential for head shape in the Hungarian meadow viper, which suggests a strong contribution of this ecologically important trait in shaping the ability of this endangered species to adapt to changing conditions and/or habitats. Furthermore, our results suggest that maternal phenotypes should be carefully considered when designing captive breeding parental pairs for reinforcing the adaptive capacity of threatened populations, whereas the paternal phenotypes seem less relevant.

Background European vipers (genus Vipera ) are a well-studied taxonomic group, but the low resolution of nuclear sanger-sequenced regions has precluded thorough studies at systematic, ecological, evolutionary and conservation levels. In this study, we developed novel microsatellite markers for the three Iberian vipers, Vipera aspis , V. latastei and V. seoanei , and assessed their polymorphism in north-central Iberian populations. Methods and results Genomic libraries were developed for each species using an Illumina Miseq sequencing approach. From the 70 primer pairs initially tested, 48 amplified reliably and were polymorphic within species. Cross-species transferability was achieved for 31 microsatellites loci in the three target species and four additional loci that were transferable to one species only. The 48 loci amplified in average seven alleles, and detected average expected and observed heterozygosities of 0.7 and 0.55, in the three genotyped populations/species (26 V. aspis , 20 V. latastei and 10 V. seoanei ). Conclusions Our study provides a selection of 48 polymorphic microsatellite markers that will contribute significantly to current knowledge on genetic diversity, gene flow, population structure, demographic dynamics, systematics, reproduction and heritability in these species, and potentially in other congeneric taxa.

Mammalian carnivores play a fundamental role in ecosystem structure and function. Arid ecosystems of the Central Iranian plateau host a high diversity of carnivore species for which patterns of habitat selection and co-existence are poorly understood. We evaluated habitat correlates and segregation for five felid species in a mountainous arid region in central Iran: the sand cat, wildcat, caracal, Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard. We produced ecological niche models (ENMs) and metrics of niche overlap to identify the most important drivers of habitat selection and patterns of species co-existence within the felids guild. We found three distinct patterns of habitat use, implying niche partitioning among the five felid species: (1) specialised use of sand dunes and desert woodlands by sand cat; (2) specialised use of flat and foothills desert areas in the case of the cheetah; and (3) broad, more generalised use of numerous habitat types in wildcat, caracal, and leopard. Together, these results indicate that mountains within vast, flat deserts (a.k.a. \"sky islands\") are a cornerstone for maintaining ecological communities and predator-prey dynamics in south-western Asia. By increasing our understanding of coexistence in an understudied carnivore guild, our work provides critical information for the conservation of arid ecosystems.

Understanding how species have been affected by recent human mediated landscape transformation is crucial for designing effective conservation strategies. The Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) has faced a dramatic range decline and currently occurs in very small populations restricted to the mountain deserts of Central Iran. In this study, we aim to quantify temporal changes in ecological requirements and availability of suitable areas for the Asiatic cheetah. Ecological models for historical and contemporary time-periods were built based on historical and contemporary species records and using a set of 11 ecogeographical variables including climate, anthromes and prey availability of each time-period, using maximum entropy modelling. Distance to the prey Gazella bennettii was the most important factor related to the occurrence of cheetahs in historical time period, while in contemporary times it was replaced by the climatic factor maximum temperature of the warmest month. Predicted areas of high suitability occur within the borders of Iran. When compared, suitability decreased 72% from historical to contemporary periods causing the current loss of suitability in some protected areas. Our results suggest that the fundamental niche of Asiatic cheetahs has not changed but the realized niche has changed over time. When environmental correlates of species distribution for each time period are analysed in detail, changes in realized niche are likely related to depletion of cheetah’s main prey, temperature variation and landscape transformation of its habitats. Conservation measures should start urgently to improve protection for gazelle species (prey) and wildlands (habitat), especially in temperate areas, to ensure the survival of the last Asiatic cheetahs. Further research on cheetah’s interaction with other predators and preys, and gene flow dynamics between populations would also benefit its long term conservation.