Massimo Bonello
Project
Zootoca vivipara, the common lizard, is Ireland’s only native reptile. This species of lizard is ubiquitously encountered throughout the island, with citizen sightings reported through the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Nonetheless, populations may at the same time be threatened through various anthropogenic factors such as progressive intensification of agriculture, intensity of tourist traffic or the increasingly progressive urbanization of the environment (Stasiak, 2022). This may either negatively affect them, or have positive effects such as provision of new perching structures. The only existing habitat suitability mapping effort was made in 2010 in Northern Ireland (Farren et al., 2010), but is yet lacking in the Republic of Ireland, so we don’t have a current assessment of the species’ distribution, nor of any threats to it. In this project, an an updated Environmental Niche Model fo Z. vivipara will be estimated from bioclimatic layers, and compared with habitat suitability related to the human footprint through integrating layers on human activities.
Zootoca vivipara, the common lizard, is Ireland’s only native reptile. This species of lizard is ubiquitously encountered throughout the island, with citizen sightings reported through the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Nonetheless, populations may at the same time be threatened through various anthropogenic factors such as progressive intensification of agriculture, intensity of tourist traffic or the increasingly progressive urbanization of the environment (Stasiak, 2022). This may either negatively affect them, or have positive effects such as provision of new perching structures. The only existing habitat suitability mapping effort was made in 2010 in Northern Ireland (Farren et al., 2010), but is yet lacking in the Republic of Ireland, so we don’t have a current assessment of the species’ distribution, nor of any threats to it. In this project, an an updated Environmental Niche Model fo Z. vivipara will be estimated from bioclimatic layers, and compared with habitat suitability related to the human footprint through integrating layers on human activities.
