Identifying key conservation sites for the reptiles of the Tandilia mountains in Pampas highlands

Abstract

Reptile populations are facing a global decline as a consequence of anthropic disturbs. For its conservation, it is necessary to know its geographical distribution and the main factors influencing it. Tandilia Mountains are located in the centre of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. These mountains contain high biodiversity and several endemic species, but the current Natural Protected Areas network covers a low area of ​​0.12 %. In this work, we modelled the geographic distribution of reptiles in the Tandilia Mountains to: a) explore the environmental factors affecting the distribution of reptiles on the highland grasslands of the Tandilia Mountain System and (b) identify the key biodiversity areas. We used ten environmental variables and several sources of records (fieldwork, scientific literature, museum collections, and an online database) to model the distribution of each reptile species. The best sites to propose natural reserves were determined in Zonation software. We determined the representativeness of the current system of Natural Protected Areas in the Tandilia Mountain range by overlapping the sites with the Zonation results. We obtained 20 species distribution models with two general patterns: continuous and patched. In most species, the two most informative variables were growing degree-days below 0 °C and precipitation of the wettest quarter. The current system of Natural Protected Areas of the Tandilia Mountains covers 0.35 % of the conservation priority sites (4341 km2) and therefore is insufficient in protecting reptile biodiversity.