Recent studies showed that the divergence of adaptive traits has little association with genetic diversification. This has an important implication on the taxonomy and prioritizing conservation efforts. Most geographically isolated evolutionary lineages evolve under similar selective pressures. Many species with broad continental ranges are in fact comprised of spatial units isolated in early geological times. 
The understanding of the true relation between phenotypic and genetic divergence is a key issue for evolutionary biologists and conservationists. The analysis of population viability requires knowledge of the effective range: the range of a widespread species may be comprised of effectively isolated fragments populated by genetically divergent individuals, and without the respective knowledge, it is hardly possible to evaluate the risks of extinction. The country of Georgia has 12 species of amphibians and 56 reptiles, and only some are extensively studied with genetic markers; even these studies did not use standardized molecular and analytical approaches.
In 2020, the German Ministry of Education and Science financed the project called CaBOL (Caucasus Barcoding of Life). This project considers the barcoding of specimens representing different taxonomic groups, with the ambition to develop in future complete species inventories of the Caucasus Ecoregion. This project gives us a chance to compare genetic markers of all nominal species of Georgia’s herpetofauna with the conspecific populations Worldwide. The gained knowledge can be used for the analysis of the expansion potential of amphibians and reptiles. We plan to identify the relative time and level of genetic isolation for Georgia’s populations of all 68 species of the country’s herpetofauna, based on the sequences obtained within the framework of CaBOL and those stored in genetic databases. This will help to identify isolated populations requiring improved monitoring. We will conduct thorough sampling of the species that display remarkable differentiation. We will develop suitable habitat models, for a better understanding of the factors limiting their dispersal, and validate the taxonomic status of “doubtful” species using genomic data. The main aim of the research is a relative analysis of the dispersal ability of all Georgia’s amphibians and reptiles. The objectives include (a) searching genetically closest geographic populations; (b) full barcoded list of the country’s herpetofauna; (c) validating the taxonomic status of species “under the question” using genomic data. The research methodologies include (1) sampling, (2) additional DNA sequencing (3) relative analysis of genetic isolation; (4) spatial modeling, (4) genomic analysis, and (5) validating taxonomy.