The dangers of leaving home: dispersal and mortality in snakes

Bonnet, Xavier; Naulleau, Guy; Shine, Richard

doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(98)00140-2

Cited by 300 publications

(216 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Snakes are the reptiles that are most likely to be hit on roads, due to their characteristic long body morphology and their habit of frequently using roads as thermoregulation sites (Bernardino & Dalrymple 1992, Bonnet et al 1999. Most reptiles found on CVPN roads were snakes or long-bodied lizards, such as Ophiodes aff.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild vertebrate roadkill in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Central Brazil

Braz

França

2016

Biota Neotrop.

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Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is one of the most important protected areas of the Brazilian Cerrado and is inhabited by diverse species, but the area has seldom been studied. From 2006 to 2008, we studied the impact of roads on wild vertebrates by recording roadkill on the two main roads located in the vicinity of the park. Of 824 killed vertebrates belonging to 138 species that were recorded, the species that were found most often in each vertebrate group were the Schneider's toad (Rhinella schneideri), the grassland sparrow (Ammodramus humeralis), the yellow-toothed cavy (Galea flavidens), and the marbled lancehead (Bothrops marmoratus). The roadkill rate was 0.096 animals km -1. Vertebrate mortality was significantly higher during the wet season. There is a significant relationship between habitat structure and the vertebrates that were found as roadkill: amphibians are associated with nearby forest and paved roads, birds with nearby pastures, reptiles with nearby grassland, and mammals with unpaved roads. Action should be taken such as highway fencing in combination with safe crossing opportunities for wildlife in order to decrease the number of animals killed on the roads. Keywords: road ecology, protected areas, conservation, cerrado. , o tico-tico-do-campo (Ammodramus humeralis), o preá (Galea flavidens) e a jararaca (Bothrops marmoratus). A taxa de atropelamento foi de 0.096 animais km -1 , com uma mortalidade significativamente maior durante a estac¸ã o chuvosa. Foi encontrada uma relac¸ã o significativa entre a estrutura do habitat e as classes de vertebrados atropelados nas rodovias, sendo o grupo dos anfíbios associados a fragmentos florestais e trechos pavimentadas das rodovias, o das aves associado com pastagens circundantes, répteis com campos e mamíferos com trechos nã o pavimentados das rodovias. Medidas como barreiras que impec¸am a movimentac¸ã o dos animais nas estradas, bem como passagens seguras sã o indicadas para a reduc¸ã o do nú mero de animais mortos nas rodovias na regiã o do Parque. Palavras-chave: ecologia de estradas, áreas protegidas, conservac¸ão, cerrado.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild vertebrate roadkill in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Central Brazil

Braz

França

2016

Biota Neotrop.

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“…Reptile activity is strongly weather-dependent, and animals that are moving may be more likely to encounter humans (Bonnet et al, 1998). Do we see any such link in the WIRES data?…”

Section: Influence Of Weather Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snakes in the garden: an analysis of reptiles “rescued” by community-based wildlife carers

Shine

Koenig

2001

Biological Conservation

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Stimulated by animal-welfare concerns, community programs to ''rescue'' urban wildlife generate many interactions between humans and wildlife. Such rescue activities (1) may have direct ecological effects (by modifying mortality patterns of wildlife, or geographic distributions at the local level), and (2) may provide valuable information on local abundance and distribution of taxa, the nature of threats to urban wildlife, and biological attributes of poorly-known species. We examine these issues for reptiles rescued by community-based animal-welfare groups in south-eastern Australia. Records gathered by the Wildlife Information and Rescue Service over a 10-year period (1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998) in New South Wales quantify rates, determinants and outcomes of reptile rescues. Despite their scarcity in urban habitats, snakes (11,067 records) were represented almost as often as lizards (11,108). Typically, rescued lizards were large in size or snake-like in appearance. Most reptiles (especially snakes) were rescued not because of injury, but because the local residents wanted them removed. Thus, very large numbers of these animals were translocated to release sites. Of the injured animals, small-bodied reptile species (and juveniles of larger species) were frequent victims of attacks by domestic cats and dogs. Larger reptiles were more often injured by motor vehicles. Capture rates for all species were highest in warmer months, and especially on days with dry, warm weather. These temporal patterns seem to be due to reptile biology not human behaviour. The rapid increase in animal-rescue activities indicates that potential ecological effects (especially, arising from translocation of ''problem'' wildlife) deserve further study. At the same time, such community groups can provide valuable information for ecologists. #

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“…Thus, the high sighting numbers during the last and first quarters of the year corresponded with the breeding seasons of the Nile crocodile in the study area. In this regard, it should be mentioned that activity peaks in correspondence with breeding events were frequently observed in reptiles (e.g., Bonnet et al 1999;Filippi & Luiselli 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Population surveys of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Murchison Falls National Park, Victoria Nile, Uganda

Behangana¹,

Lukwago²,

Dendi³

et al. 2017

European Journal of Ecology

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Abstract1. A 12-month-long survey (April 2013 to March 2014) for Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) was conducted along a section of the Victoria Nile/Ramsar site of Murchison Falls National Park, in order to update the historic information on crocodile populations in the area, locating nesting areas, determining seasonality patterns and habitat use, and assess the current abundance and the population size trends since the 1960s. The methods employed included visual encounter surveys, transect counts and opportunistic methods, by using boats. 2. In general, there were diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in the number of crocodile sightings. The crocodile sightings peaked between the months of June and August, with the highest mean number of sightings encountered on any single day being 67 (in July 2013), and the second peak was between January and March with the highest mean of 118 recorded in January 2014. The second peak also coincided with the crocodile breeding season. This clearly shows that the distribution of the sub-population sampled followed a climatic regime. 3. Crocodiles were observed most frequently in water (37%). Grassy banks, islands, river mouths and sandy banks constituted about 47% of the habitats utilised by the crocodile population. Although basking was the most frequent type of activity performed by crocodiles (50%) over the entire survey period, their key activities varied significantly from month to month. Nesting was very visible during the last quarter of the year and the first quarter of the New Year. 4. There was a clear decline of the abundance of crocodiles in this population between 1960s and nowadays. This declining trend was obvious also taking into account the various survey methodologies employed over the decades.

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The dangers of leaving home: dispersal and mortality in snakes

Cited by 300 publications

References 31 publications

Wild vertebrate roadkill in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Central Brazil

Wild vertebrate roadkill in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Central Brazil

Snakes in the garden: an analysis of reptiles “rescued” by community-based wildlife carers

Population surveys of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Murchison Falls National Park, Victoria Nile, Uganda

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