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Conservation Concerns About the Southernmost Lizards of the World

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Lizards of Patagonia

Part of the book series: Natural and Social Sciences of Patagonia ((NSSP))

Abstract

Lizard populations are globally in decline due to several human-related threats, and the Patagonia region is not an exception to this problem. With more than 160 species, Patagonian lizards encompass a high percentage of the lizard diversity from South America. Among them, at least one-third are currently listed with some IUCN Red List threat category. These species are affected by several threats, among which some of the most harmful ones are related to energy production, mining, and agriculture. Among threatened species, the six most endangered are Liolaemus confusus, Liolaemus curis, Liolaemus cuyumhue, Liolaemus hermannunezi, Liolaemus rabinoi, and Phymaturus vociferator. These species deserve special attention, thus the areas where these lizards occur should be protected. However, in order to protect a higher number of species in the wild, alternative approaches should be undertaken to prioritize conservation areas, considering other sources of information including local politics, opportunities, social context, land availability, degree of habitat disturbance, and lizard biodiversity, among others. In this challenging scenario, the conservation of Patagonian lizards will require not only committed people, but also further research, adaptive management, sustainable development, and even citizen activism to promote a change in governmental decisions.

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Acknowledgements

Melina Velasco and Jorge Williams gave us key information during the preparation of this work. Anonymous reviewers and the editors of this book made valuable suggestions that helped us improve this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sección Herpetología, División Zoología de Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Federico Pablo Kacoliris, Camila Kass & Diego Omar Di Pietro

  2. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IPEEC – CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Ignacio Minoli

  3. Universidad Nacional de Chilecito, CONICET. Instituto de Ambiente de Montaña y Regiones Áridas (IAMRA), La Rioja, Argentina

    Camila Kass

Authors
  1. Federico Pablo Kacoliris
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  2. Ignacio Minoli
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  3. Camila Kass
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  4. Diego Omar Di Pietro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Federico Pablo Kacoliris .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Mariana Morando

  2. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Luciano J. Avila

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Kacoliris, F.P., Minoli, I., Kass, C., Di Pietro, D.O. (2020). Conservation Concerns About the Southernmost Lizards of the World. In: Morando, M., Avila, L.J. (eds) Lizards of Patagonia. Natural and Social Sciences of Patagonia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42752-8_14

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