Tahar Slimani

Bushes protect tortoises from lethal overheating in arid areas of Morocco

SUMMARY Arid Mediterranean regions that shelter unique biodiversity are threatened by increasing anthropogenic pressures, such as urbanization, overgrazing and climate change. In Morocco, one of the main bush species in arid areas, the jujube (Ziziphus lotus), suffers from officially promoted programmes of removal. The Moorish tortoise (Testudo graeca soussensis )i s threatenedbysuchhabitatloss.Likemostanimals,the Moorishtortoisemustnavigatebetweenmicrohabitats tofindessentialfeedingresourcesandthermalrefuges. This study combined radio-tracking of free-ranging individuals,microhabitattemperaturemonitoringand transects in a range of habitats. Tortoises were found to depend on the occurrence of large and relatively abundant bushes to escape lethal overheating. Thus, (1) current official encouragements for the destruction of the jujube bushes should be reappraised; (2) habitat restorationrelyingonreplantingjujubebushshouldbe encouraged; and (3) large-scale monitoring of critical bush densities should be used to better organize conservation plans (protection and/or restoration of areas) for the Moorish tortoise.

Schoolchildren and One of the Most Unpopular Animals: Are They Ready to Protect Snakes?

ABSTRACT For cultural reasons and due to the narrow vision of environmental policy makers, most conservation efforts focus on a few charismatic species and consequently neglect the majority of others under threat; many unpopular species are even killed in large numbers with little concern. Redressing this bias through educational programs is therefore important. Snakes are unpopular animals; they suffer from human harassment in most places and many populations have declined worldwide. Consequently, they provide suitable substrate to better improve conservation education in schoolchildren. Responses to a questionnaire administered to 2,570 schoolchildren (7–14 years old) from 10 countries showed that many children liked snakes and that most of the students wanted to see snakes protected. Such counterintuitive results were supported by the explanations given by the children, notably the reasons they liked or disliked snakes. Previous physical contact with snakes was often associated with snake likeability. We also found strong and expected differences between countries: for instance, where venomous snakes represented a health risk, most children declared to be afraid of snakes. Overall, our results negate the simplistic, and previously unverified, adult view that snakes are necessarily perceived as frightening animals, thereby justifying their persecution. This study provides an encouraging message, suggesting that it is not compulsory to focus on charismatic animals to convince children to protect wildlife.

Is sexual body shape dimorphism consistent in aquatic and terrestrial chelonians

Comparisons between aquatic and terrestrial species provide an opportunity to examine how sex-specific adaptations interact with the environment to influence body shape. In terrestrial female tortoises, selection for fecundity favors the development of a large internal abdominal cavity to accommodate the clutch; in conspecific males, sexual selection favors mobility with large openings in the shell. To examine to what extent such trends apply in aquatic chelonians we compared the body shape of males and females of two aquatic turtles (Chelodina colliei and Mauremys leprosa). In both species, females were larger than males. When controlled for body size, females exhibited a greater relative internal volume and a higher body condition index than males; both traits potentially correlate positively with fecundity. Males were more streamlined (hydrodynamic), and exhibited larger openings in the shell providing more space to move their longer limbs; such traits probably improve mobility and copulation ability (the males chase and grab the female for copulation). Overall, although the specific constraints imposed by terrestrial and aquatic locomotion shape the morphology of chelonians differently (aquatic turtles were flatter, hence more hydrodynamic than terrestrial tortoises), the direction for sexual shape dimorphism remained unaffected. Our main conclusion is that the direction of sexual shape dimorphism is probably more consistent than sexual size dimorphism in the animal kingdom.

Sexual Dimorphism in the Greek Tortoise: A Test of the Body Shape Hypothesis

ABSTRACT In most animal species, it is expected that females should exhibit a greater abdominal volume than males to hold the progeny, when compared with females, males should exhibit more developed attributes that enhance mobility. We tested this hypothesis in the Greek tortoise. In chelonians, a reduction of the openings in the shell improves protection against predation but also constrains the abdominal volume and limits the space available to move the limbs. As expected, our data show that the shell provides a larger abdominal volume relative to tortoise size in females than in males. In males, deep notches in the shell and a reduction of several plastron plates offer more freedom to the limbs and to the tail; these characteristics presumably enhance mating success. Further studies are necessary to assess the applicability of these results in other chelonians, notably freshwater and marine turtles.

Distribution of Testudo graeca in the western Mediterranean according to climatic factors

Despite being one of the most charismatic elements of the Mediterranean Basin fauna and its threatened status, the western Mediterranean range of Testudo graeca is at present very poorly known. The present work provides the most detailed geographical and ecological description for the North African clade of T. graeca so far. We gathered 283 occurrence data of T. graeca in North Africa and modelled the distribution by means of presence-only distribution modelling tools. The obtained model was then projected to southern Europe in order to explore whether the environmental characteristics of European populations fall into the predicted niche of the species in North Africa. T. graeca showed a wide environmental range in North Africa. Presence localities ranged from the sea level to 2090 m of altitude and from 116 to 1093 mm of annual precipitation. The presence-only model indicates that distribution in North Africa is mainly related to rainfall, specifically rainfall values in the wettest and coldest quarter of the year. The distribution model showed a range of ca. 1 000 000 km 2 . The projection of the model to southern Europe showed that the southern Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, as well as most Mediterranean islands, present climatic conditions within those found in the range of the species in North Africa.

Does testosterone influence activity budget in the male Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca graeca)

The stimulatory effect of testosterone on male sexual activity is one of the clearest examples linking hormones and behaviors. However, this relationship is complex in Chelonians. We experimentally studied the influence of testosterone levels on the activity budget and space use in male Greek tortoises (Testudo graeca graeca) during the spring mating season. We first described the annual pattern of changes in plasma testosterone levels in free-ranging animals in Morocco. Two peaks, one in winter and one in summer, corresponded to periods of inactivity; whereas mating periods in spring and to a lesser extent in autumn were associated with low plasma testosterone levels. Second, we experimentally manipulated plasma testosterone levels in free-ranging males, and analyzed the behavioral consequences. The strong contrasts in plasma hormone levels induced by the experimental treatments did not result in changes in activity budget or space use, both in the short-term or more than one month after the beginning of the hormonal treatment. Our results suggest that testosterone levels did not influence directly behavioral activity in this species, either immediately or after a time delay of one month.

Salmonella species in free-living spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca) in central western Morocco

REPTILES, and particularly terrestrial tortoises, have been shown to be an important reservoir of Salmonella species bacteria ([Chiodini and Sundberg 1981][1], [Woodward and others 1997][2], [Pasmans and others 2000][3]). In terrestrial chelonians, Salmonella species are considered to be part of the

Factors Influencing Schoolchildren's Responses to a Questionnaire in Wildlife Conservation Education

Questionnaires are important tools for assessing attitudes regarding conservation issues. However, they are not easily comparable and their reliability has been insufficiently assessed. We examined factors influencing responses to open- and closed-ended questions about animal conservation to more than 600 schoolchildren (9 years old on average). We analysed the level of understanding, controllable (e.g. sample size) and less controllable factors (e.g. affectivity). Most children responded appropriately to the questions, but subtle changes in the phrasing influenced the answers. Affectivity towards endearing species and spontaneity also influenced the responses whereas small sample sizes (∼50 children) provided relatively stable patterns. Overall, we suggest that standardization of questionnaires administered over large spatial and time scales is needed to accurately assess childrens attitudes towards conservation issues.

Shrewd shrikes and spiny shrubs: a calamity for hatchling Moorish tortoises (Testudo graeca graeca)

Cheloniansliveinasafe-boxthatoffersanef-Þcientprotectionagainstmostpredators,atleastin adults and sub-adults (Wilbur and Morin,1988). Nevertheless, in hatchlings, and to alesser extent, in juveniles the shell is soft and/ornot solid enough to resist to many predatorssuch as monitors, dogs, or birds for example(DouglasandWinegarner,1977;FitzpatrickandWoolfenden, 1978; Branch and Els, 1990; Gef-fen and Mendelssohn, 1997; Keller et al., 1998;Hill, 1999; Lagarde et al., 2001; Boarman,2002). In an open landscape, the predation onthese fragile tortoises can be severe; sometimesleaving strong marks on the population dynam-ics (Boarman, 2002). In April 2003, during aÞeld study on the ecology of Testudo graecagraeca in Morocco (Essaouira region, 31 23 N,9 42 W), we found several hatchling tortoisesimpaled on spiny shrubs ( Argania spinosa )ina typical shrike manner (Cramps and Perrins,1993). Therefore, several observations of shrike(Lanius excubitor ) were made in the study areaand even on the involved shrubs. We searchedintensively the study site and the surroundingarea (the total prospected area was 50 ha) anddiscovered a total of 25 impaled tortoises in 3spiny shrubs (respectively 17, 7 and 1 tortoisespershrub).WithanaverageShriketerritorysizeof 75 ha (Cramps and Perrins, 1993), such pre-dation may be due only to one Shrike breed-

Patterns of throat colour variation in Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus, a high-altitude gecko endemic to the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco

The persistence of marked phenotypic variation within species is evolutionarily puzzling. We uncovered remarkable variation in throat colouration in a high-altitude gecko (Atlas Day Gecko, Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus) endemic to the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Orange, yellow, and white variants were found in approximately equal proportions in both sexes, and in juveniles and adults. The colour variants did not differ in body size or in body condition, but there was some indication that orange males have relatively longer jaws than white or yellow males. The number of mites harboured by an individual was not a function of its sex or of its throat colouration, but larger lizards did harbour more mites. Our data do not support the hypotheses that throat colour variation is due to selection pressures differing between the sexes or through ontogeny, or signals immunocompetence, but offer some support for the hypothesis that throat colour variation signals dominance. Future investigations on the evolution of throat colour variation in this species should use spectrophotometry to obtain finer colour classification and incorporate measures of fitness.