HERPETOFAUNA OF THE NATURAL RESERVES FROM CAREI PLAIN: ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL SIGNIFICANCE, ECOLOGY, STATUTE AND CONSERVATION - Carpathian Journal of Earth And Environmental Sciences

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Severus-Daniel COVACIU-MARCOV¹, Istvan SAS¹, Alfred-Ştefan CICORT-LUCACIU^1,2, Eva-Hajnalka KOVACS³ & Cristina PINTEA⁴
¹University of Oradea, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Universitatii Str. No.1, Oradea 410087, Romania. E-mail: scovaciu@uoradea.ro, isas@uoradea.ro
²"Babes-Bolyai" University, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Str. Kogalniceanu No.1; Cluj-Napoca, 400084, Romania. E-mail: alfred_cicort@yahoo.com
³Arsmed, Medical Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Oradea, Romania, E-mail: hajni_81@yahoo.com
⁴University of Oradea, Faculty of History and Geography, Department of Geography, Str. Universitatii 1, Oradea 410087, Romania

HERPETOFAUNA OF THE NATURAL RESERVES FROM CAREI PLAIN: ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL SIGNIFICANCE, ECOLOGY, STATUTE AND CONSERVATION

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Abstract: The three natural reserves from Carei Plain harbour 11 species of amphibians, 7 species of reptiles and populations of the hybrid Rana kl. esculenta. The reserves conserve two extremely important categories of habitats: wetlands represented by large swamps and dry habitats represented by sand dunes. The first category of habitats maintains the glacial relict species attached to a moister and colder climate and from the second it is present Podarcis taurica, an element of dryness and higher temperatures that reaches in the region the northern limit of its distribution range. The overlap of theses two groups of herpetofaunal elements is unique for the region, representing one of the defining particularities of the zone. At present, this is possible due to the special inlay of the area's habitats.

Keyword: herpetofauna, Carei Plain, nature reserves, ecology, conservation, zoogeography