Water cisterns a hidden threat in Arid Regions By Bouazza Abdellah - Dec 20, 2024    Desert Monitor (Varanus griseus) from Mhamid El Ghizlane  (Photo Bouazza Abdellah) Reptiles face multiple threats including habitat destruction, road mortality, illegal pet trade, local superstitions leading to hunting, climate change, and entrapment in anthropogenic structures like water cisterns (called Matfia). Recent research on the Desert Monitor (Varanus griseus) in Morocco has unveiled an urgent conservation challenge: the unintended consequences of anthropogenic wells (Zdunek et al., 2024). While these wells provide essential water resources to local communities in arid regions, they also pose a severe threat to wildlife (García-Cardenete et al., 2014). Figure 1. Different structures (Matfias)  found in Morocco....