Introduction

The main part of the herpetofauna of Ukraine consists of the so-called "common species", occupying more than 70% of the studied area and numerically prevailing in different biotopes compared to their other classes (Sillero et al. 2014). They tend to be very important parts of many trophic chains in ecosystems, maintaining their energy balance, its flow, keeping a stable state. Simultaneously, the structural and functional state of common species' populations (age composition, sex ratio, morphological and genetic features of these animals) can be used for bioindication, since it reflects the state of the environment as a whole (Yablokov 1987, Akulenko et al. 2019). Amphibian and reptile species, even those treated as common ones, are extremely sensitive to the state of the environment (biotopes and habitats) and, therefore, require development of special conservation measures now, based on the long-term trends and probabilistic models of environmental change (Gibbons et al. 2000, Howard and Bickford 2014, Catenazzi 2015, Greenberg and Palen 2021). Anthropogenic processes demanding such urgent needs include pollution of the environment (e.g. with pecticides, insecticides etc.), degradation, fragmentation and direct destruction of suitable habitats (e.g. as a result of military actions, shelling, using chemical weapons etc.) (Vasyliuk et al. 2022), emergence and expansion of alien invasive species and harmful agents (viruses, microorganisms and parasites) (Kopecký et al. 2013, García‐Díaz et al. 2016, Demkowska-Kutrzepa et al. 2018) and, of course, global climate change (Lindenmayer et al. 2011, Vasyliuk et al. 2015, Tytar et al. 2018, Nekrasova et al. 2019). Common species are usually ecologically flexible and occur both in urbo- and agrocenoses, surviving even in heavily anthropogenically transformed areas (Nekrasova 2002). At the same time, they are characterised by a large number of different morphological and genetic forms and, sometimes in the population, a large number of individuals with anomalies are observed, which have recently increased significantly (Nekrasova 2002, Nekrasova 2008, Nekrasova 2014, Nekrasova and Kuibida 2018, Tytar et al. 2018, Marushchak et al. 2021).

Amongst the 24 species of reptiles in Ukraine, we have chosen only three "common" species (12.5% of all reptile species inhabiting the country): sand lizard Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758; European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) and grass snake Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). This group does not include species that are widespread, but are rare and relatively few in numbers or listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (Akimov 2009), for example, the smooth snake Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 (74.1%) (Nekrasova 2014). Amongst 22 species of amphibians in Ukraine, we chose five species of anurans (22.7% of all amphibian species inhabiting Ukraine): semi-aquatic and widespread (https://www.gbif.org/uk/dataset/148bc5c8-0408-424c-84d2-d491ea2e234d) European green toad Bufotes viridis (Laurenti, 1768); the most ecologically flexible and numerous marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771); oriental tree frog Hyla orientalis (Bedriaga, 1890); European fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761) widespread in small water bodies and the most vulnerable forest species - common toad Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) (Smirnov 2014, Shabanova et al. 2017, Palamarenko 2021) (Table 1, Figs 1, 2).

Table 1.

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A list of the studied amphibians and reptiles of Ukrainian herpetofauna.

AMPHIBIA			Conservation status *	N	% of the territory of Ukraine
Number	Family	Species
1.	Bombinatoridae	Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761)	IUCN (LС), BC (2)	532	76.7
2.	Bufonidae	Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758)	IUCN (LС), BC (3)	210	70.4
3.	Bufonidae	Bufo viridis Laurenti, 1768	IUCN (LС), BC (2)	354	97.1
4.	Hylidae	Hyla orientalis (Bedriaga, 1890)	IUCN (LС), BC (2)	312	78.0
5.	Ranidae	Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771)	IUCN (LС), BC (3)	845	96.1
			Total:	2253
REPTILIA
6.	Emydidae	Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus,1758)	IUCN (NT), BC (2)	583	78.0
7.	Lacertidae	Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758	IUCN (LС), BC (2)	615	98.3
8.	Colubridae	Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)	IUCN (LR/LC), BC (3)	509	75.0
			Total:	1707

Figure 1.  

Map of records of studied representatives of herpetofauna (amphians - Amphibia; reptiles - Reptilia) on the territory of Ukraine.

Figure 2.  

Results of the analysis (Binomial test) of climatically suitable territory of Ukraine (distribution) for the studied amphibian and reptile species.

The published dataset highlights information on widespread amphibian and reptile species, records on the distribution of which in Ukraine has been poorly represented and only available for the scientific community for the last 26 years. The problem is that information on actual records is mainly collected on rare species (listed in national Red Lists of protected species, such as the Red Book of Ukraine) (Akimov 2009). On the contrary, data on common species is usually copied from old publications to the new ones without any real changes (Kuzmin 1999, Pysanets 2007) and, therefore, possible trends, especially negative ones when a common species suddenly becomes rare, can be missed. Tracking and constant updating the evidence on all species (publishing updated bases of records), regardless of their status, is necessary to respond adequately and in a timely manner to their needs and possible population decline. At the very least, the regular publication of such data helps to make adequate changes to the lists of protected species and their status, based on real data (Nekrasova et al. 2019), rather than personal feelings of particular scientists or working groups. Only recently, thanks to the initiatives of the NGO "Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group" on the preparation of the Shadow List of the Emerald Network in Ukraine - newly-proposed territories aimed at the conservation of specific species and habitats mentioned in Resolutions 4 and 6 of the Bern Convention (Vasyliuk et al. 2022) and the initiative of our colleagues to create the National Ukrainian Network UkrBin (UkrBIN 2017) to collect information on the distribution of various species of fauna and flora in Ukraine, this problem started to get solved. Currently, GBIF is one of the most unified international open access databases, which helps to collect and distribute information, including information about common species.

General description

Project description

Sampling methods

Geographic coverage

Taxonomic coverage

Traits coverage

Temporal coverage

Collection data

Usage licence

Data resources

Additional information

Acknowledgements

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