Preferred altitude of Vipers in the Val Müstair

Preferred altitude of Vipers in the Val Müstair
Authors:
Lea Lopp, Ylenurme Gymnasium, Uhti, Estonia
Joshua Forney, Gymnasium Thun Standort
Schadau, Spiez, Switzerland
Nadine Ruchti, Gymnasium Thun Standort
Schadau, Amsoldingen, Switzerland
Olivier Stähli, Gymnasium Thun Standort
Schadau, Steffisburg, Switzerland
Tutor:
Hans Schmocker, Chur, Switzerland
Valchava, 25th June 2015
Contents
Contents ................................................................................................................................ 2
Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3
Methods and material ............................................................................................................ 3
Results .................................................................................................................................. 4
Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 5
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 6
References ............................................................................................................................ 6
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Summary
For our project we asked ourselves at what altitudes we could find the Asp Viper and the
Adder and if there were any altitudes at which we could find both. We assumed that the Asp
Viper would occur between 1400 m.a.s.l. and 2000 m.a.s.l. and the Adder between 1700
m.a.s.l. and 2600 m.a.s.l. and that the two species do overlap at certain altitudes. While looking for snakes we used GPS devices, cameras and datasheets to record our findings and
provide proof that we had really found the snakes. After 3 days we had found 3 Asp Vipers
and 7 Smooth Snakes at various altitudes, but no Adders. We complemented our findings
with Adder findings from karch (Swiss Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Programme) in
order to confirm or deny our hypothesis. We came to the conclusion that Adders and Asp
Vipers do not overlap at all. They both occupied the areas we had estimated, but we had
designated a slightly larger area than they can be found in. We also concluded that the
Smooth Snake can be found within a large range of altitudes and overlaps with both the Adder and the Asp Viper.
Introduction
We spent most of the week looking for Asp Vipers (Vipera aspis), Adders (Vipera berus) and
Smooth Snakes (Coronella austriaca). We wanted to determine what altitudes the snakes
preferred and if their ranges of preferred altitude overlapped.
According to previous findings in the area Asp Vipers are generally found below 1950 meters
above sea level (m.a.s.l.). Adders on the other hand preferred to be over 1950 m.a.s.l. We
were provided with a map by our tutor, Hans Schmocker, which displayed an altitude line at
1950 m.a.s.l. above which Adders live and below which Asp Vipers live.
Both snakes like to have their hiding places near stones they can bask on and in high grass
to provide cover from predators. During the day, they can often be found on stone walls or
rocks that provide a basking spot and nooks and crannies to escape to (Meyer et al; 2009).
The aim of our study was to find out at what altitudes we could find the Adder and the Asp
Viper and if there were altitudes at which both species could be found and to confirm if the
red line drawn on the map was an accurate approximation. We chose these two species because there was pre-existing information to base our work on. The second aim was to determine if the preferred altitudes of the two snakes overlapped. We assumed the Asp Viper
would occur between 1400 m.a.s.l. and 2000 m.a.s.l. and the Adder between 1700 m.a.s.l.
and 2600 m.a.s.l. Furthermore, we also assumed that the preferred ranges of altitude of the
two snakes do overlap.
Methods and material
Our study area was the Val Müstair, a valley in the Swiss Alps (figure 1). We used cameras,
Garmin GPS devices and data sheets to collect data in the field. We used the GPS devices
to note the coordinates of the snakes we found and wrote them down on our data sheets,
along with the altitude, the photographer, the name of the species we found and the date and
time. After we split up, we started numbering the snakes differently so we would be able to
quickly tell which group found them. We searched locations based on the angle of the sun,
the availability of rocks for the snakes to bask on and nearby grass patches for the snakes to
hide in. Whenever we found a snake, we took a picture as proof of our find and entered data
into our sheet. We took care to not come into direct contact with the snakes. We also recorded the coordinates of areas that had shown signs of a snake’s presence, such as shedded
skins or the scent of snake secretion.
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Figure 1. Map of the Val Müstair, our study area.
Results
Table 1. IWRW, Snake Findings 2015: Data Sheet
No
1
2
3
4
6
102
201
103
8
401
901
902
903
Date
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
22.06.2015
23.06.2015
23.06.2015
24.06.2015
Altitude zones
Time
9:05
9:30
9:56
9:56
10:40
15:45
15:50
12:50
13:25
17:30
A1
A2
A3
Zone
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A1
A3
A2
A2
A2
A3
A3
Species
Smooth Snake
Asp Viper
Asp Viper
Smooth Snake
Smooth Snake
Asp Viper
Smooth Snake
Smooth Snake
Smooth Snake
Smooth Snake
Adder
Adder
Adder
Finder
N. Ruchti
H. Schmocker
L. Lopp
J. Forney
N. Ruchti
O. Stähli
H. Schmocker
O. Stähli
L. Lopp
O. Stähli
Database
Database
Database
1400 to 1700 m.a.s.l.
1700 to 2000 m.a.s.l.
2000 to 2300 m.a.s.l.
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According to table 1 and figure 2, Asp Vipers occur only in A1, Adders in A3 and A2 and
Smooth Snakes in all the zones. Adder findings were taken from the database of the Swiss
Amphibian and Repitle Conservation Programme (karch).
Figure 2. Findings in the Val Müstair (triangles from karch); the map displays our study area
and the findings we used in our report.
Discussion
During our 3-day search, we found 7 Smooth Snakes, 3 Asp Vipers but no Adders. According to our results, Asp Vipers can be found in zone A1 and Smooth Snakes in zone A1, A2
and A3. As we found no Adders, we can only use finding from the karch database. According
to these findings, Adders are found in zone 2 and 3. We found no Asp Vipers outside of zone
1, so there appears to be no overlap between the Asp Viper and Adder, which denies our
second hypothesis. However, the snakes all occurred within the ranges we estimated. Our
first hypothesis is mostly true, but the ranges of altitude we designated were slightly larger
than the ranges that the snakes actually occupy. The Asp Viper was only found between
1400 m.a.s.l. and 1700 m.a.s.l. as opposed to our estimate of 1400 m.a.s.l. to 2000 m.a.s.l.
Similarly, the Adder findings from the database are all from between 1700 m.a.s.l. to 2300
m.a.s.l. as opposed to 1700 m.a.s.l. to 2600 m.a.s.l. Another thing we realized while examining our results is that the Smooth Snake populates a very large range of altitudes and occurs
in the same areas as Adders and Vipers.
If we had known that we would not find any Adders, we might have taken another species as
the subject of our project. For instance, we found several Smooth Snakes by chance while
looking for Adders and Asp Vipers, so Smooth Snakes would have been a more viable spe5
cies to examine. We assume that if it had not been so windy and cold in zone 3 when we
decided to search there, we would have encountered more snakes. If we were to repeat our
project, we would try to really find snakes higher up by checking the area multiple times over
several days. For a similar project we could cover bigger areas by working in a larger group.
Other than that, we are content with our methods and planning. The only other method to
find snakes would have been to use artificial covers which attract snakes, but that takes
much longer than 3 days for snakes to appear. We only had three days to do the field work
and the weather conditions were not the best for finding snakes, which is one possible explanation for our few findings. Further work could be done with Smooth Snakes, as they
seem to be the most prevalent species to be found in this study area. It would be interesting
to examine their specific habitats at different altitudes or perhaps how they interact with the
Vipers in their habitats.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Schweizer Jugend Forscht for making the study week possible and
for giving us the chance to participate. We also would like to thank all the guides who accompanied us, especially Hans Schmocker, who worked with us patiently during the entire
week and taught us all about herping and snakes, and helped us to write our report. The Estonian Research Consul was also very generous in sending Lea Lopp to Switzerland and
covering all her travelling costs.
References
Karch. URL: http://www.karch.ch/ (Last visited: 25.06.15)
Meyer, A. et al. 2009. Auf Schlangenspuren und Krötenpfaden. Haupt, Bern (Switzerland).
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