Management strategies for conservation of the lizard Lacerta schreiberi inPortugal

Lacerta schreiberi is an endemic lizard in the northwest of the Iberian Pen insula, with some isolated populations in the south. The aims of this work are to select priority areas for the conservation of the species, identify extinction risk areas, evaluate the current degree of protection and define a strategy for the conservation of this species in Portugal. We used an ev aluation model of areas in a GIS environment. Conservation priority areas r epresent 15% of the distribution area of the species in Portugal. Populatio ns with high risk of extinction are located primarily along the littoral st rip. About 50% of the conservation priority areas are already included in t he Portuguese protected areas (PPA). The conservation strategy for the spec ies needs efficient protection of habitats, increase of PPA and creation of Regional Reserves for the littoral populations. For the isolated populatio ns we propose five types of management actions: habitat restoration, supple mentation of populations, reintroduction of individuals, captive breeding a nd population monitoring. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserve d.