The possible answer on question how to motivate humans to actively participate in the
nature conservation is presented in the short overview of important sequences of the lecturer’s
professional life, from classical herpetology via population biology, population genetics and
evolutionary biology to conservation science. The second part of the seminary represents main
research topics of the lecturer’s team, where certain aspects of conservation biology are studied
through participation in projects focused on genetic diversity in various species, hidden
conservation priorities, comparison of selected traits between marginal and central populations
within the species, recognition of stress in marginal populations, comparison of the stress level
between undisturbed and disturbed population groups, etc. Model species are mostly common
European amphibians and reptiles, from two reasons: first, they are more economic for studying;
second, they also should be studied and regularly monitored in order not to disappear silently.