Disappearing large whip snakes – increasing citizen involvement in the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Group of BirdLife Hungary
Abstract
In 2011, the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Group (ARCG) of BirdLife Hungary launched a conservation programme to survey the North Hungarian populations of Dolichophis caspius and its habitats in the vicinity of Budapest, and to build up a habitat management plan for the species. From March through the end of September we made a total of ten visits on four habitats. On two fragments of one habitat (Farkas-hegy), with an extension of 1–1.5 ha, we observed eleven (7 ad., 2 subad., 2 juv.) D. caspius. We captured and, after recording a few data, released five of them. Six specimens were positively identified as different. On both habitat fragments a large number of lizards (Lacerta viridis and Podarcis muralis) were observed, constituting a good supply of prey for the snakes. The habitats are burdened with an increasing number of shrubs and trees, invasive plant species and recreational activity. With help of volunteers we removed the black pines from one of the habitat fragments of Farkas-hegy. We intend to survey additional habitats and if necessary to build up management plants to improve them. Our Dolicophis programme together with other programmes of ARCG triggered an increased citizen involvement.
References
Amo, L., López, P. & José, M. (2007): Habitat deterioration affects antipredatory behaviour, body condition, and parasite load of female Psammodromus algirus lizards. – Canadian Journal of Zoology 85: 743–751.
Arnold, N. & Ovenden, D. (2002): Collins Field Guide – Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. Harpercollins Publishers, London.
Bellaagh, M., Báldi, A. & Korsós, Z. (2007): Élőhely-preferencia vizsgálatok a magyarországi haragossikló-állományokon. – Természetvédelmi Közlemények 13: 431–438.
Bellaagh, M., Korsós, Z. & Szelényi, G. (2008): New occurrences of the Caspian Whipsnake Dolichophis caspius (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae) along the River Danube in Hungary – Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 60: 213–217.
Bonnaud, E., Bourgeois, K., Vidal, E., Kayser, Y., Tranchant, Y. & Legrand, J. (2007): Feeding ecology of a feral cat population on a small Mediterranean island. – Journal of Mammology 88: 1074–1081.
Boyle, S. A. & Samson, F. B. (1985): Effects of nonconsumptive recreation on wildlife: a review. – Wildlife Society Bulletin 13:110–116.
Burger, J. (2001): The behavioral response of basking Northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes to pedestrians in a New Jersey park. – Urban Ecosystems 5: 119–129.
Copping, J. (2008): Reptiles now more popular pets than dogs. – The Telegraph 2008. november 22., Online, [2012. január 5.].
Dely, O. Gy. (1978): Hüllők-Reptilia. – In: Magyarország Állatvilága (Fauna Hungariae). XX, 4, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 120 pp.
Dely, O. Gy. (1997): A csíkos vagy ugró sikló (Coluber caspius Gmelin, 1789) magyarországi előfordulásáról. – Állattani Közlemények 82: 39–46.
Dobolyi, K. (2002): Studies of vegetation dynamics on the rock grasslands in the Csíki-hegyek (Budaörs, Hungary). – Studia Botanica Hungarica 33: 83–96.
Gál, J. (ed) (2006): Hüllők tartása, takarmányozása és egészségvédelme. Bollók és tsa., Budapest, 302 p.
Gompper, M. E. & Vanak, A. T. (2008): Subsidized predators, landscapes of fear and disarticulated carnivore communities. – Animal Conservation 11: 13–14.
Herczeg, G., Krecsák, L. & Marsi, Z. (2002): Új bizonyító adat a haragos sikló előfordulásáról Budapest belterületén a Sas-hegyről. – Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matrensis 26: 341–344.
Korsós, Z., Mara, Gy. & Traser, Gy. (2002): A haragos sikló (Coluber caspius Gmelin, 1789) újabb előfordulása Magyarországon. – Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matrensis 26: 335–339.
Korsós, Z. (2007): A magyarországi hüllőfauna története a jégkorszak után. – In: Forró, L. (szerk.): A Kárpát-medence állatvilágának kialakulása. Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum. Budapest, pp. 283–296.
Kreiner, G. (2007): The snakes of Europe. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, 317 pp.
Luiselli, L. & Akani, G. C. (2002): An investigation into the composition, complexity and functioning of snake communities in the mangroves of south-eastern Nigeria. – African Journal of Ecology 40: 220–227.
Medina, F. M., Bonnaud, E., Vidal, E., Tershy, B. R., Zavaleta, E. S., Donlan, C. J., Keitt, B. S., Corre, M. L., Horwath, S. V. & Nogales, M. (2011): A global review of the impacts of invasive cats on island endangered vertebrates. – Global Change Biology 17: 3503–3510.
Miles, I., Sullivan, W. C., & Kuo, F. E. (1998): Ecological restoration volunteers: the benefits of participation. – Urban Ecosystems 2: 27–41
Mushinsky, H. R. & Miller, D. E. (1993): Predation on water snakes: intraspecific and ontogenetic considerations. – Copeia 1993(3): 660–665.
Nagy, Z. T., Bellaagh, M., Wink, M., Paunović A. & Korsós, Z. (2010): Phylogeography of the Caspian whipsnake in Europe with emphasis on the westernmost populations. – Amphibia-Reptilia 31: 455–461.
Oscarson, D. B. & Calhoun, A. J. K. (2007): Developing vernal pool conservation plans at the local level using citizen-scientists. – Wetlands 27: 80–95.
Parent, C. & Weatherhead, P. J. (2000): Behavioral and life history responses of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) to human disturbance. – Oecologia 125: 170–178.
Pérez-Tris, J., Díaz, J. A. & Tellería, J. L. (2004): Loss of body mass under predation risk: cost of antipredatory behaviour or adaptive fit-for-escape? – Animal Behaviour 67: 511–521.
Rodda, G. H. & Tyrrell, C. L. (2008): Introduced species that invade and species that thrive in town: are these two groups cut from the same cloth? – In: Mitchell, J. C., Jung Brown, R. E. & Bartholomew, B. (szerk.): Urban Herpetology, Herpetological Conservation vol. 3., Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Salt Lake City, UT, pp. 327–341.
Simberloff, D. (1998): Flagships, umbrellas, and keystones: is single-species management passé in the landscape era? – Biological Conservation 83: 247–257.
Tóth, T. (2002): Data on the North Hungarian records of the Large Whip Snake Coluber caspius Gmelin, 1789. – Herpetozoa 14: 163-167.
Újváry, B. Korsós, Z. & Kisbenedek, T. (1998): A tűz mint veszélyeztető tényező a rákosréti vipera élőhelyén. – Természetvédelmi Közlemények 7: 151–165.
Zinner, H. (1972): Systematics and Evolution of the Species Group Coluber jugularis Linnaeus, 1758 – Coluber caspius Gmelin, 1789 (Reptilia, Serpentes). PhD. Thesis, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel (electronic version).
