Full professor at UAA, Co-Chair of the IUCN’s Viper Specialist Group (VSG) and Member (Candidate) of the National System of Researchers in Mexico. Interested in macroecological patterns, natural ...
IUCN COMMISSION GROUP
IUCN SSC Viper Specialist Group
Overview and description
Description:
Vipers are among the most persecuted vertebrates by humans and 25% of assessed viper species are threatened. The VSG works towards a better understanding and protection of vipers. By bringing together ...
Group leadership
Dr Jose Jesus SIGALA-RODRIGUEZ
Co-Chair
Full professor at UAA, Co-Chair of the IUCN’s Viper Specialist Group (VSG) and Member (Candidate) of the National System of Researchers in Mexico. Interested in macroecological patterns, natural history and conservation of viperid snakes. He enjoys field work and has done it looking for vipers in every state of Mexico and several in USA. He values teaching and divulgative work: has taught 36 different courses and given more than a hundred professional presentations. Jesus was President of the Mexican Zoological Society and has done academic stays at USA and Ecuador.
Prof Marcio MARTINS
Red List Authority Coordinator
Marcio Martins is a Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is the South American Regional Coordinator of the Viper Specialist Group. His current research focuses on the ecology, evolution and conservation of amphibians and Squamate reptiles. He's been involved with extinction risk assessments at global, national, and regional levels during the last 20 years, using IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, contributing to the IUCN Red List in the assessment of Brazilian snakes, coordinating the assessments of Brazilian reptiles from 1999 to 2003, contributing to the sampled red list of reptiles coordinated by the IoZ-ZSL in 2011, coordinating the 1st and 2nd cycles of full assessments of Brazilian snakes from 2010 to 2014 and 2016 to 2020, working as a RLA validating assessments of the 1st and 2nd cycles of full assessments of all Brazilian animals from 2012 to 2013 and 2018 to 2021.
Marcio Martins is a Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is the South American Regional Coordinator of the Viper Specialist Group. His current research focuses on the ecology ...
Prof Jelka CRNOBRNJA-ISAILOVIC
Red List Authority Coordinator
Date of Birth: August 28, 1962
Education:
Ph.D. in Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 1997
M.Sc. in Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Belgrade, 1988
B.Sc. in Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Belgrade, 1986
Languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrian
Areas of expertise: Herpetology
Conservation biology, evolutionary ecology and biodiversity conservation
Environmental Impact Assessment
Present position:
Professor, Department of biology and ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Serbia, 2012-present
Topics: Evolutionary biology, Conservation bology
Principal Research Fellow, Department of Evolutionary biology, IBISS, University of Belgrade, 2011-present
Years of Professional Experience:
29 years
Activities in IUCN:
2008-Europe & Caucasus Red List Assessment Workshop, Antalya, Turkey; 2005- European Red List Assessment Workshop, Bonn, Germany;
2004- Mediterranean Red List Assessment Workshop, Malaga, Spain
Coordinator of European branch of IUCN Viper Specialist Group, 2012-present
Tier I IUCN Amphibian Red List Authority Working Group for Europe, 2013-2016
Member of Amphibian Species Specialist Group of IUCN, 2008-present
Member of Viper Specialist Group of IUCN, 2010-present
Member of IUCN Amphibian Red List Assessors team, 2009-present
Membership in Scientific Societies:
Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH)
Society for Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR)
Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)
Date of Birth: August 28, 1962
Education:
Ph.D. in Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 1997
M.Sc. in Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics ...
More about the Specialist Group
The VSG’s main role is to bring together global experts to address information gaps in viper knowledge, identify the most important conservation priorities, and promote assessment and action for individual species. Vipers are rarely considered as focal flagship species at national and international levels, therefore much of viper research and conservation occurs through local projects or initiatives. The VSG helps provide a network among these local projects ...
MISSION
Viper Specialist Group (VSG), is a platform from which conservation biologists can work to increase our scientific understanding of viper biology and can implement conservation actions to prevent declines and extinctions.
Specialist Group work
The VSG focuses on identifying and addressing threats to viper species as well as identifying opportunities for conservation. We contribute to regular assessment of the status of viper species, seeking to incorporate new taxonomic data and reduce gaps in our knowledge of viper species distribution and population trends.
Understanding and addressing threats to vipers through focal committees
Vipers face multiple threats as well as unique opportunities for promoting and facilitation conservation. The VSG has initiated focal committees dedicated to several aspects critical to viper conservation.
Vipers on the IUCN Red List
To inform conservation efforts, VSG assesses species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
VSG Annual Report
Learn about VSG’s work and results in 2022.
Previous reports:
VSG Annual Report 2021
VSG Annual Report 2020
VSG Annual Report 2019
VSG Annual Report 2018
VSG Annual Report 2016-2017
PROJECT | Greek Meadow Viper conservation
In coordination with our Red List Unit, we aim to assess or reassess as many species of vipers as we can in this quadrennium, focusing on several areas of the world, like Europe, Mesoamerica, southeast Asia and parts of Africa.
Cerrophidion tzotzilorum, a Meso-American pitviper with a small distribution area. Photo by Jesús Sigala
Photo: Jesús Sigala
Field team tracking radio-tagged rattlesnakes in North America. Photo by Ernestina Meza-Rangel
Photo: Ernestina Meza-Rangel
Bothriechis bicolor, the Guatemalan Palm-pit Viper (Least Concern), is an arboreal species that inhabits forests in Mesoamerica. Photo by Eric Centenero Alcalá.
Photo: Eric Centenero Alcalá
