Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Habitat ecology of the smooth snake Coronella austriaca and its reptilian prey in the degraded bog with implications for artificial refuge surveys

2016; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/21658005.2016.1252125

2165-8013

Andris Čeirāns, Larisa Nikolajeva,

Primate Behavior and Ecology

Diet preferences of the smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) being still controversial, we studied the overlap between its habitat and that of its potential reptilian prey species using the artificial refuge (ATR) method. The discriminant function analysis revealed that part of the smooth snake's habitat niche is unused by one of its prey species – Zootoca vivipara. The smooth snake was recorded more often in places with high density of individuals of another lizard species – Anguis fragilis. Occasional data on snake diets supported the assumption that the latter species is a very important food item for the smooth snake in the study area. Our study estimated the minimum number of times that a site must be visited to infer absence of a particular species, which was 12 for Anguis fragilis, 14 for Coronella austriaca, and 19 for Natrix natrix. Moreover, the study revealed that ATRs should be placed and kept at a site for the whole vegetation season. In the intact bog habitat, the smooth snake was recorded only within a 40 m wide peripheral belt, Anguis fragilis within an 80 m wide belt, and Zootoca vivipara within a 120 m wide peripheral belt. In the drained bog, Anguis fragilis inhabited a broad spectrum of habitat types ranging from tall closed forest to low open stands. All other species inhabited stands with the tree cover percentage smaller than 30–50%. Coronella austriaca and Vipera berus preferred low stands (average height < 5 m), while Zootoca vivipara and Natrix did not show any preferences for tree stand height. Our study indicates that reptiles benefit from lowered ground water levels and more stable water regime of a degraded bog.