Ghost snakes stop breeding after prolonged drought

Meager rainfall reduces food resources, making Connecticut female cobras harder to conceive and give birth to.

A research team at the University of Illinois tracked the number of spawns of ghost snakes living on the edge of the forest near Meriden, Connecticut, Connecticut, during a five-year drought. "Before this study, we knew very little about the direct impact of drought on snake reproduction , " said Mark A. Davis, a conservation biologist in Illinois' Natural History Survey. university, share.

The female cobra in Connecticut's forest.(Photo: Chuck Smith).

Ghost cobra must fatten his body to prepare for reproduction. In the first year Davis and his colleagues conducted the survey, the emergence of large cicada colonies provided abundant food for ghost tigers. In the summer, 20 female snakes laid a total of 148 young.

In 2012, the second year in the survey, the drought started and lasted for 5 years. Because haunted cobra hibernates and gets pregnant at the same location each year, tracking the population's success rate is relatively easy. Observations by the team showed that reduced rainfall led to fewer pregnant snakes.

Ghost snakes mainly eat tadpoles, salamanders, reptiles and other small amphibians depending on the water environment. When drought persists, their food sources become scarce. During the early drought years, some snakes continued to breed and lay 6 normal sized snakes each litter. However, the later, the lower the number of female snakes giving birth.

Survey results published on October 24 in Scientific Reports show that ghost snakes have long-lasting vitality but are still affected by climate change. Given the more frequent long-term droughts, declining fertility rates can contribute to shrinking populations.

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