Translocation is a popular method for reducing human-wildlife conflict, but does it work for snakes? We delve into a couple of new papers about translocation in venomous species. Our Species of the Bi-week is a viper with an unusual appetite. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main paper references:

Devan-Song, A., Martelli, P., Dudgeon, D., Crow, P., Ades, G., & Karraker, N. E. (2016). Is long-distance translocation an effective mitigation tool for white-lipped pit vipers (Trimeresurus albolabris) in South China?. Biological Conservation, 204, 212-220.

Wolfe, A. K., Fleming, P. A., & Bateman, P. W. (2018). Impacts of translocation on a large urban-adapted venomous snake. Wildlife Research.

Species of the Bi-Week: Shi, J., G. Wang, X. Chen, Y. Fang, L. Ding, S. Huang, M. Hou, J. Liu, and P. Li. 2017. A new moth-preying alpine pit viper species from Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (Viperidae, Crotalinae). Amphib. Reptil. 38: 517–532.

Other mentioned papers:

Barve, S., Bhaisare, D., & Giri, A. (2013). A preliminary study on translocation of “rescued” King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah). Hamadryad, 36, 80-86.

Butler, H., Malone, B., & Clemann, N. (2005). The effects of translocation on the spatial ecology of tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) in a suburban landscape. Wildlife Research, 32(2), 165-171.

Hart, K. M., Cherkiss, M. S., Smith, B. J., Mazzotti, F. J., Fujisaki, I., Snow, R. W., & Dorcas, M. E. (2015). Home range, habitat use, and movement patterns of non-native Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Animal Biotelemetry, 3(1), 8.

Heiken, K. H., Brusch, G. A., Gartland, S., Escallón, C., Moore, I. T., and Taylor, E. N. (2016). Effects of long distance translocation on corticosterone and testosterone levels in male rattlesnakes. General and Comparative Endocrinology 237, 27–33. doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.

Tulloch, A. I., Auerbach, N., Avery-Gomm, S., Bayraktarov, E., Butt, N., Dickman, C. R., ... & Lavery, T. H. (2018). A decision tree for assessing the risks and benefits of publishing biodiversity data. Nature ecology & evolution, 2(8), 1209-1217.

Zhu, F., Liu, Q., Che, J., Zhang, L., Chen, X., Yan, F., ... & Guo, P. (2016). Molecular phylogeography of white‐lipped tree viper (Trimeresurus; Viperidae). Zoologica Scripta, 45(3), 252-262.

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