THE NATIONAL RED LIST OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Adder

Vipera berus

Macedonian

Шарка

Albanian

Neperka me lara e malit

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Taxonomy
Assessment info
Population
Habitat and Ecology
Threats
Use and Trade
Conservation Actions
Bibliography

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Vipera berus

Authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms

Coluber berus Linnaeus, 1758

Assessment info

IUCN Red List Category and Criteria

EN – Endangered, B2ab(iii)

Date assessed

November 2019

Assessors

Sterijovski, B.

Arsovski, D.

Reviewers

Tomović, L.

Contributors

/

Facilitators

Hofman, M.P.G.

Justification

The Adder only occurs on nine mountains/mountain massifs that, due to the alpine nature of this species and the ubiquitous and ongoing overgrowth of these habitats, can be treated as separate locations: Shara-Korab-Desat, Bistra-Stogovo, Jablanica, Baba, Galichica, Karadzica, Nidze-Kozhuf, Osogovo, and Malesevski Mt. These high-mountain Adder populations do not experience dispersal among each other due to ecological obstacles (valleys and forests at altitudes lower than 1.500 meters between their high-mountain habitats), thus are severely fragmented, with minimal to no chance of recolonization in case of extinction. Topping this off with quite a limited area of occupancy (AOO) of 260 km2 and the threats it is facing (habitat conversion, especially afforestation with beech and juniper forest, habitat destruction , persecution by humans, infrastructure for ski-runs and global warming), inferences can easily be made about future and existing declines in habitat quality and AOO, placing the species in the Endangered category in North Macedonia. All Adder populations in the southern Balkans are confined to high-mountain pastures, making rescue effects from neighboring countries impossible, without human organized reintroduction programs, thus a category downlisting is not recommended. Globally/in Europe this species has been assessed as Least Concern.

Population

Current population trend

Decreasing

Description

Existing data does not allow for nation-wide population size estimates. Nevertheless, preliminary field impressions demonstrate that adder populations in the central and western parts of North Macedonia are denser than other national populations. The species’ high mountain habitat preferences have made Macedonian populations severely fragmented, and existing threats are likely causing population reductions.

Habitat and Ecology

System

Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology

Inhabits high-mountain pastures and forest clearings. Mating occurs in May or June and females give birth to up to 20 juveniles between August and September (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

Use and trade

Use and trade

Hobbyists often seek out individuals from Balkan populations of this species (communications from online forums and groups).

Threats

Threats

Overgrowth of alpine grasslands (because of abandonment of traditional agricultural practices) is a threat to the species. Construction of ski-runs and roads are also significant threats. May also be affected by climate change and is persecuted by humans.
All threats listed for this species are included in the “List of priority threats to biological diversity” in the “Strategy for biodiversity of Republic of North Macedonia” (Ministry of environment and physical planning, 2018).

Conservation actions

Conservation actions

It is listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention. On a national level it is not on the list of protected wild species. Since it is an alpine species in North Macedonia, research is needed on the exact effects of habitat shifts due to climate change, and overgrowth due to the abandonment of grazing practices in many localities. Additionally, detailed phylogeographic studies of all isolated mountain populations could have taxonomic repercussions and possibly reveal local genetic differences that might call for the explicit conservation of some populations.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Sillero, N., Campos, J., Bonardi, A., Corti, C., Creemers, R., Crochet, P.-A., Crnobrnja-Isailović, J., Denoël, M., Ficetola, G.F., Gonçalves, J., Kuzmin, S., Lymberakis, P., de Pous, P., Rodríguez, A., Sindaco, R., Speybroeck, J., Toxopeus, B., Vieites, D.R., Vences, M. 2014 Updated distribution and biogeography of amphibians and reptiles of Europe. .p 1-31.

Sterijovski, B., Tomović, L., Ajtić, R. 2014. Contribution to the knowledge of the Reptile fauna and diversity in FYR of Macedonia. .p 83–92.

Ministry of environment and physical planning .2018. National biodiversity strategy and action plan : for the period 2018 – 2023. Ministry of environment and physical planning. Skopje . .p 183.

Speybroeck, J. Beuckema, W., Bok, B., Voort, J.V.D. 2016. Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc London . .p/.

Melovski, Lj., Markoski, B., Hristovski, S., Jovanovska, D., Anastasovski, V., Klincharov, S., Velevski, M., Velkovski, N., Trendafilov, A., Matevski, V., Kostadinovski, M., Karadelev, M., Levkov, Z., Kolchakovski, D. 2013. Regional division of the Republic of Macedonia for the needs of biological databases . .p 81-111.

Gasc, J-P., Cabela, A., Crnobrnja-Isailović, J., Dolmen, D., Grossenbacher, K., Haffner, P., Lescure, J., Martens, H., Martinez-Rica, J.P., Maurin, H., Oliveira, M.L., Sofianidou, T.S., Veith, M., Zuiderwijk, A. 1997. Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Europe. Societas Europaea Herpetologica & Museum Nationall d’ Histoire Naturelle (IEGB/SPN). Paris. .p 496.