Costantinos Sotiropoulos, Anastasios Mpounas, Chrysoula Papadaki, Dimitra Sergiadou, Souzana Siarbi and Elisavet – Aspasia Toli
Although in some cases reedbed management proved to be beneficial for the diversity of amphibians, the existing knowledge is still limited.In this study we assessed the diversity and the densities of amphibians in 13 pre-selected parts of the reed beds in Mikri and Megali Prespa, in order to estimate their current population status and produce the knowledge necessary to inform the proper selection of management sites and the consequent evaluation of the applied management. The study added several new data for the area of Prespa. Among them, several new locality records were added for the presence of the Macedonian crested newt (Triturus macedonicus). In general, differences regarding species composition and densities of larval stages of amphibians were recorded, with reed beds showing higher diversity indices compared to adjacent habitats. On the other hand, increased larval densities were observed in the wet meadows. Results showed that sites exhibiting increased diversity of amphibians are those consisting of a mosaic of habitats, since different species of amphibians occupy different niches. Therefore, a proper management strategy that will create open shallow areas and preserve at the same time enclaves of undisturbed reeds, is expected to increase the diversity of amphibians and also to ensure the conservation of the Macedonian crested newt in the area.
Σωτηρόπουλος, Κ., Μπούνας, Α., Παπαδάκη, Χ., Σεργιάδου, Δ., Σιαραμπή, Σ., Τόλη, Ε.Α., 2017. Εκτίμηση της βιοποικιλότητας των αμφιβίων σε οικοσυστήματα καλαμιώνων της Μικρής και της Μεγάλης Πρέσπας. Αναφορά στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος « LIFE Prespa Waterbirds» (LIFE15 NAT/GR/000936). Εργαστήριο Μοριακής Οικολογίας & Γενετικής της Διατήρησης, Τμήμα Βιολογικών Εφαρμογών και Τεχνολογιών, Σχολή Επιστημών Υγείας, Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Εταιρία Προστασίας Πρεσπών.