Citizen-science data shows long-term decline of snakes in southwestern Europe

Santos, Xavier; Pleguezuelos, Juan M.; Chergui, Brahim; Géniez, Philippe; Cheylan, Marc

doi:10.1007/s10531-022-02415-8

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…We are just beginning to realize the benefits of citizen science programs in researching populations, communities, and ecosystems, or early detection of potentially invasive species ( Bonney et al, 2009 ; Dickinson, Zuckerberg & Bonter, 2010 ; Strugariu, 2023 ). Herpetology, in particular, reaps the rewards from the use of citizen science, especially considering the cryptic behavior exhibited by many species ( Tiago, Pereira & Capinha, 2017 ) and the challenges in assessing their behaviors or population trends ( Santos et al, 2022 ). This is not the first instance of citizen science platforms, such as iNaturalist, being used to gain knowledge about grass snakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natrix natrix after dark: citizen science sheds light on the common grass snake’s nightlife

Spaseni,

Sahlean,

Gherghel

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Activity patterns in animals are often species-specific, and can be generally categorized as diurnal, crepuscular, or nocturnal. Understanding these patterns provides insight into ecological adaptations and behaviors. The common grass snake (Natrix natrix), one of the most common and widespread European snake species, is traditionally considered diurnal, with scarce evidence of its crepuscular and nocturnal activity. We aimed to document the distribution, environmental conditions, and potential phenotype associations of nighttime activity in N. natrix. We used citizen science data from iNaturalist (1992–2022), Observation.org (2012–2022), together with personal field observations (2010–2023) to collect 127 crepuscular and nocturnal activity records. Most observations occurred between May and August, coinciding with the peak activity period of grass snakes across their distribution range. Statistical analyses revealed no significant difference in mean daily temperatures between crepuscular and nocturnal observations. However, striped individuals displayed nocturnal activity at higher temperatures, consistent with their distribution in warmer regions, but failed to register any difference when tested on a geographic subsample, that accounted for sympatry of the phenotypes. Surprisingly, we found no significant impact of moon presence or moonlight on nighttime activity or age class, contrary to expectations based on other snake species’ responses. While our study reveals that nocturnal activity in the common grass snake is geographically widespread, further research is warranted to understand its drivers and ecological implications. This study highlights the value of citizen science platforms for biological and ecological research, offering unparalleled spatial and temporal coverage by their users. In conclusion, our work extends the knowledge of nocturnal behavior in N. natrix and underlines the critical role of citizen science in discovering behavioral aspects of common and widespread species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natrix natrix after dark: citizen science sheds light on the common grass snake’s nightlife

Spaseni,

Sahlean,

Gherghel

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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“…Disentangling the factors that limit the species' distribution is of outstanding importance for threatened species; this is the case of V. latastei , which is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN (Mateo Miras et al., 2009) and is experiencing a current decrease in population trend (Santos et al., 2022). The weak competitive pressure we detected here is unlikely to be relevant to a future exclusion of this species from the whole sympatric area, as it might be expected in cases of more intense competition (Case et al., 2005; Luiselli, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meso‐habitat distribution patterns and ecological requirements of two Mediterranean vipers depict weak competition in a contact zone

Scaramuzzi,

Freitas,

Sillero

et al. 2023

Journal of Zoology

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Disentangling the multiple factors that shape the ecological niche of a species is often difficult, especially when in contact with other similar and potentially competing species. Ecological niche models (ENMs), albeit originally developed for environmental factors only, can help in assessing competition by comparing the niches of ecologically similar species. Here, we use ENMs and niche overlap tests to compare the ecological niches of the Western Mediterranean vipers, Vipera aspis and V. latastei, in the secondary contact zone of the High Ebro (Northern Spain), partitioning the species occurrences in sympatric and allopatric subsets. We considered nine geomorphological and landcover variables, obtained from remote sensing, and gathered at the meso‐habitat scale (100 × 100 m). Our ENMs showed partial interspecific divergence in habitat requirements between these two closely related species, with V. aspis selecting more canopied areas and V. latastei preferring more open habitats. No intraspecific differences in ecological requirements were found when sympatric and allopatric subsets were compared, that is, the two species are not experiencing ecological shift when in contact, which suggests weak competition in habitat use. Our findings, therefore, suggest that species distributions in this contact zone are mainly determined by the environmental conditions, with almost no contribution of competitive pressure. Still, a localized competition might exist due to minor differences in the ecological niches and a marked and unequal reduction of suitable areas for the sympatric populations, which could be favouring V. aspis in small regions of the contact zone.

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“…Getting the right information from such species could be invaluable for our understanding of snake biology and, especially, cognition. Although citizen science concerning snakes has mainly been done in the area of field conservation (Goiran & Shine, 2019;Santos et al, 2022;Todd et al, 2017), there is no reason why it couldn't be done with captive animals. If snake keepers can be instructed how to acquire specific data on their animals, they may obtain useful information on many aspects of snake behavior and cognition.…”

Section: Conclusion: Where To Go Frommentioning

confidence: 99%

Snakes: Slithering from Sensory Physiology to Cognition

Tadić¹

2023

CCBR

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Snakes (Serpentes) are scaly, limbless reptiles that share the same taxonomic order (Squamata) with lizards (Sauria) and amphisbaenians (Amphisbaenia). All snakes have an elongated body and are predatory carnivores. This body shape and their feeding modality have a pervasive effect on many aspects of their biology, such as ecology, physiology, and behavior. Snakes inhabit all biogeographic realms except the polar regions and some islands. Within each of these realms they have filled various aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal niches. In this review, I describe the sensory physiology of snakes and its peculiarities related to their specific way of life. In the final paragraph, I try to summarize the cognitive abilities of snakes and suggest future approaches to further investigate snake cognition and to link it to underlying physiological processes.

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Citizen-science data shows long-term decline of snakes in southwestern Europe

Cited by 9 publications

References 64 publications

Natrix natrix after dark: citizen science sheds light on the common grass snake’s nightlife

Natrix natrix after dark: citizen science sheds light on the common grass snake’s nightlife

Meso‐habitat distribution patterns and ecological requirements of two Mediterranean vipers depict weak competition in a contact zone

Snakes: Slithering from Sensory Physiology to Cognition

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