Mo. biologists to study snake movement, mortality

[May 13, 2008]  PUXICO, Mo. (AP) -- Snakes wouldn't be at the top of most people's favorite critter list. They're feared and misunderstood and often, killed. That's a shame, said Jason Lewis, a wildlife biologist at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico. The refuge is a major migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl.

"Snakes serve a very important role in the ecosystem," he said. "Snakes are designed to control pest populations and they eat a lot of frogs, turtles (and) fish." Reptiles and amphibians, Lewis added, are "very sensitive to disturbance, and can be used as indicators of environmental change."

Biologists at Mingo would like to reduce the number of snakes that are run over by vehicles, intentionally and by accident, during their spring and fall migration. That may include closing some roads during their migration.

They've decided to study the snakes' movement and mortality at the southeast Missouri refuge, saying they are critical to the park's ecosystem.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates the Mingo refuge, has teamed up for the project with the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State University, the Mingo Swamp Friends and others.

"We're concerned about the number of snakes being run over, and the whole idea behind the study is to minimize mortality," Lewis said. "We want to know, 'Are pregnant females being impacted more than males?'"

If they are, he said, that could potentially harm the snake population.

Lewis also said biologists want to find out what exactly triggers snake migrations.

The western cottonmouth, a venomous species native to the area, was chosen as the test subject "because we knew we had a healthy population," Lewis said. In early April, Lewis and Missouri State University herpetologist Brian Green captured five males and five females at their winter hibernation location, along the rocky bluffs on the refuge's western boundary.

The 10 snakes were sedated and surgically implanted with a flexible radio transmitter inside their bodies, near their tails.

The transmitters will allow the use of radio telemetry to track the snakes' movements over the course of the next year. Officials also plan to capture and implant transmitters in five cottonmouths during the summer at the adjacent Duck Creek Conservation Area to include in their study.

After the cool weather moderated, the snakes were returned to the same location they were captured from. Biologists will monitor their movements.

They want to know how the snakes disperse from their winter hibernation places and how far the snakes travel into the refuge's swamps and waterways.

The study will look at weather conditions, habitat, and how young snakes move about and find hibernation.

"With all the data, it should give us a better understanding of what they need," Lewis said. "We should be able to later determine the best conditions for migrations and close some roads ahead of time."

Depending on funding, the study could continue for three years.

___

Information from: Daily American Republic, http://www.darnews.com/

[Associated Press; By H. JOSEF HEBERT]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.