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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">102</journal-id>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="index">urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:73abe0ce-d97c-5d7c-bee5-b8e6e6fe6a17</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title xml:lang="en">ARPHA Preprints</journal-title>
        <abbrev-journal-title xml:lang="en">preprints</abbrev-journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Pensoft Publishers</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3897/arphapreprints.e86533</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">86533</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Research Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="biological_taxon">
          <subject>Amphibia</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="scientific_subject">
          <subject>Animal conservation</subject>
          <subject>Biodiversity assessment and evaluation</subject>
          <subject>Protected areas</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="geological_era">
          <subject>Cenozoic</subject>
          <subject>Neogene</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="geographical_area">
          <subject>Italy</subject>
          <subject>Southern Europe and Mediterranean</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Distribution and conservation status of endangered amphibians within the Aspromonte mountain region, a hotspot of Mediterranean biodiversity</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group content-type="authors">
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Martino</surname>
            <given-names>Giuseppe</given-names>
          </name>
          <uri content-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1799-1456</uri>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Chiocchio</surname>
            <given-names>Andrea</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">a.chiocchio@unitus.it</email>
          <uri content-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0067-7025</uri>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Siclari</surname>
            <given-names>Antonino</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A2">2</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Canestrelli</surname>
            <given-names>Daniele</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <aff id="A1">
        <label>1</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Department of Ecological and Biological Science, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy</addr-line>
        <institution>Department of Ecological and Biological Science, Tuscia University</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Viterbo</addr-line>
        <country>Italy</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A2">
        <label>2</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Città Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy</addr-line>
        <institution>Città Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Reggio Calabria</addr-line>
        <country>Italy</country>
      </aff>
      <author-notes>
        <fn fn-type="corresp">
          <p>Corresponding author: Andrea Chiocchio (<email xlink:type="simple">a.chiocchio@unitus.it</email>).</p>
        </fn>
        <fn fn-type="edited-by">
          <p>Academic editor: </p>
        </fn>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date pub-type="collection">
        <year>2022</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>13</day>
        <month>05</month>
        <year>2022</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>3</volume>
      <uri content-type="arpha" xlink:href="http://openbiodiv.net/AF451A54-2191-5394-8F72-D2F88DD744FD">AF451A54-2191-5394-8F72-D2F88DD744FD</uri>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received">
          <day>13</day>
          <month>05</month>
          <year>2022</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>13</day>
          <month>05</month>
          <year>2022</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>Giuseppe Martino, Andrea Chiocchio, Antonino Siclari, Daniele Canestrelli</copyright-statement>
        <license license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple">
          <license-p>This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <label>Abstract</label>
        <p>Amphibian biodiversity loss in recent years has exceeded that of all other groups of vertebrates. In this context, biodiversity hotspots represent priority targets for conservation in amphibian populations. However, little information is available on the distribution and conservation status of amphibian species within most biodiversity hotspots. Here, we characterized the distribution and conservation status of four endangered amphibians (<italic>Bombina pachypus</italic>, <italic>Salamandra salamandra gigliolii</italic>, <italic>Salamandrina terdigitata</italic>, and <italic>Rana italica</italic>) in the Aspromonte Mountain region, a biodiversity hotspot in southern Italy where the conservation status of amphibians is almost unexplored. We conducted an intensive field survey of 507 potential breeding sites spanning over 2.326 km<sup>2</sup>. We found that all four species were widespread in the study area. We observed 337 species occurrences: 63 for <italic>S. s. gigliolii</italic>, 29 for <italic>S. terdigitata</italic>, 84 for <italic>B. pachypus</italic>, and 161 for <italic>R. italica</italic>. Species distribution analysis revealed that <italic>S. s. gigliolii</italic> and <italic>R. italica</italic> populations had an extended and homogenous distribution. Conversely, <italic>S. terdigitata</italic> showed a dispersed pattern, with long distances between breeding sites, and <italic>B. pachypus</italic> an aggregated pattern, associated with the availability of suitable artificial habitats. On the other hand, we reported a decrease in <italic>B. pachypus</italic> occupancy in its natural habitats, which was related to a negative trend of populations. Overall, our results provide an encouraging framework for the conservation of amphibian populations in this area, but highlight the low coverage of endangered amphibian populations in protected areas, claiming for a reassessment of conservation policies and spatial conservation planning for the Aspromonte region.</p>
      </abstract>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
