engleski

Preliminary results of the dragonfly species Lindenia tetraphylla (Vander Linden, 1825) monitoring scheme program development in Croatia

The main distributional range of the species Lindenia tetraphylla (Vander Linden, 1825) is the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East where it inhabits big lakes in the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea. In Croatia, four stable, mutually isolated populations of the species were recorded along the Adriatic Sea coast but the size of each of these populations was never assessed. Due to its ecological requirements and anthropogenic impact on the species habitats, L. tetraphylla is one of the endangered and protected European dragonfly species. In order to adequately preserve the species, additional protection measures are needed. With the aim of developing the monitoring program of the species in the Mediterranean region, we have conducted the preliminary study on the population size in one of the localities in Croatia, where the species completes its life cycle, Velo Blato lake on the island Pag. Due to the adult’s great dispersal potential and emergence in the water vicinity, the size of its population was estimated by counting the total number of exuviae in the chosen areas 30X30 m surface along the coastal zone of the habitat. Practically, each of the chosen areas was divided into six additional zones where the substrate, vegetation, water depth, together with the exuviae number, their distance from the water and gender were recorded. This study represents an important step in the species long term preservation as well as the contribution to our knowledge of some of its emergence preferences.

bladetail / monitoring program / conservation

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