Eastern_Alps

Lucio Bonato

Department of Biology - University of Padova

via U.Bassi 58b · I-35131 Padova (Italy) · tel. 0039 049 8277487

lucio.bonato@unipd.it

home

research

Eastern Pre-Alps

biota and natural history

Animal and plant communities

living on the edge of Eastern Alps

have been shaped by a complex

geomorphological, climatic and anthropic history.

The unique biodiversity of the Pre-Alps

deserves further documentation

and offers a challenging ground

to investigate microevolutionary processes

and fine-scale ecological dynamics.

biota of the Pre-Alps

Biological communities in the Eastern Pre-Alps

are enriched by exclusive lineages of cave-dwelling and forest-floor invertebrates,

isolated communities mirroring either submediterranean or alpine biotas,

and composite assemblages of floristic and faunistic elements:

a naturalistic heritage urging preservation

and in need of being explored thoroughly.

alpine salamanders

Climatic oscillations shaped the present distribution

of amphibians and reptiles in southern Europe.

Relic, differentiated lineages of Alpine salamanders

have been discovered unexpectedly in recent years

on the Venetian Prealps.

butterflies

Despite enjoying rare popular appreciation

and being represented by high species richness,

rhopalocerans have been largely neglected in faunistic surveys

along the southern margin of the Alps.

Basic investigations on the distribution and ecology

are disclosing a complex pattern

of geographical diversity and natural values.

selected publications

Diversity among peripheral populations: genetic and evolutionary differentiation of Salamandra atra at the southern edge of the Alps
Bonato L., Corbetta A., Giovine G., Romanazzi E., Šunje E., Vernesi C., Crestanello B., 2018. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 56: 533-548.

abstract