Environmental pollution and habitat loss are described as underlying causes for population
declines in reptiles and especially affect species in agricultural landscapes. Studies dealing …

Simple Summary Assessing the body size and body shape variations between sexes and
geographical populations can help us understand the adaptive responses of organisms in …

Body size is an ecologically important variable in animals. The geographical size variation of
most snakes and some lizards counters Bergmann's rule in that, among related taxa, the …

Herbivory is the dominant feeding strategy in tortoises, and dietary shifts are common in
response to changes in resource availability. We conducted the first large-scale study of the …

Human-mediated secondary contact of recently diverged taxa offers valuable opportunities
for studying the evolutionary mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of …

Inconspicuous, secretive, or sparsely distributed species receive relatively little research
attention, potentially leading to uncertainty about their status and lack of efforts to conserve …

A long-term study (2012–2021) on the populations of two species of tortoises (Testudo
hermanni and T. graeca) in the vicinity of the village of Rakitna, the northwestern foothills of …

The spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca L., 1758) is classified as a vulnerable species by
the IUCN. In this context, it is important to explore the factors affecting its populations to set …

Herman's tortoise, Testudo h. hermanni, is an endangered subspecies in Italy, France, and
Spain. We studied a Herman's tortoise population in the Riserva Naturale Regionale …

Collection for the pet trade has been considered one of the major threats to the
Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise Testudo graeca, since it modulates the size and …