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We recorded the occurrence of three European newt species - the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), the eastern alpine crested newt (Triturus macedonicus), and the alpine newt (Mesotriton alpestris) - in the Montenegrin karst, as well as their breeding site characteristics. In terms of long-lasting breeding site numbers and occupation rate, the most common species is the smooth newt, followed by the alpine newt and the crested newt. The examined water bodies with­out newts showed no significant differences of aquatic habitat characteristics compared to water bodies with newts. The factors that explained most of the observed variation in newt breeding site traits were the habitat category and habitat origin. The alpine newt primarily inhabits natural lakes, while the crested newt inhabits artificial breeding sites such as lithotelma and ubao. The smooth newt is less choosy and occurs in different types of natural and artificial habitats. The aquatic requirements of Montenegrin newt species do not differ substantially in many respects from requirements of the core species range populations

Abstract:The distribution patterns of three European newt species (Triturus macedonicus, Lissotriton vulgaris, and Mesotriton alpestris) was determined in the Montenegrin karst region and the influence of breeding ponds, the adjacent landscape, and climate variables on distributions within the framework of allotopy vs. syntopy occurrences was tested. After surveying 145 newt breeding sites in a 10,080 km 2 area, the ranges of T. macedonicus and M. alpestris were found not come into contact, while L. vulgaris, the most widely distributed species, covers the entire range of T. macedonicus and the lower part of the range of M. alpestris. Using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) to evaluate the effectiveness of 70 a priori models in predicting the presence of the three newt species, it was found that: (1) elevation is the most important variable in predicting newt presence; (2) only a few elevation-dependent variables can replace elevation in the building of a good descriptive model; (3) precipitation in combination with elevation contributes significantly to the building of a better descriptive model; and (4) in comparison with allotopy, syntopy mostly occurs at intermediate elevation ranges of species in sympatry.