New data on the reproduction and possible prey objects of Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773) (Reptilia: Colubridae) in specially protected areas of the Samara Region
Keywords:
Colubridae, Elaphe dione, reproduction, specially protected natural areasAbstract
The new data on the reproduction and probable prey objects of Elaphe dione are summarized. Body size and body mass of pregnant females, the timing of egg laying, the number and parameters of the eggs, and the parameters of the newborn snakes are given. High energy expenditures and RCM were found in females. Based on the results of the census of mouse-like rodents as the main food items of the snakes, the first data on the potential composition of the prey objects of pregnant E. dione in the Zhiguli Nature Reserve were obtained.
References
Ananjeva, N.B., Orlov, N.L., Khalikov, R.G., Darevsky, I.S., Ryabov, S.A., Barabanov, A.V. (2004). Colored Atlas of the Reptiles of the North Eurasia (Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status). Saint Petersburg, Zoological Institute of RAS Publ.
Bakiev, A.G., Malenev, A.L., Zaitseva, O.V., Shurshina, I.V. (2009). Snakes of the Samara Region. Cassandra.
Chronicle of nature of the Zhiguli State Nature Reserve for 2023. (2024). Book 8 / 15.
Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. (2012). St. Petersburg.
IUCN (2017) «Elaphe dione», in: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/157275/747623
Gurtovoy, N.N., Matveyev, B.S., Dzerzhinsky, F.Ya. (1978). Practical zootomy of vertebrates: Amphibians. Reptiles. Higher School.
Klenina, A.A. (2013). Materials on the reproductive biology of the Elaphe dione in the Volga River basin. Izv. Samar. Scientific Center RAS, 13(5), 162–171.
Klenina, A.A. (2015). Snakes of the family Colubridae from the Volga basin: morphology, feeding, and breeding. [Doctoral dissertation, Institute of ecology of the Volga River basin of the RAS].
Red Book of the Samara Region. Vol. 2. Rare species of animals. (2019). Publishing House of the Samara State Regional Academy Nayanova.
Luiselli, L., Capula, M., & Shine, R. (1996). Reproductive output, costs of reproduction, and ecology of the smooth snake, Coronella austriaca, in the Eastern Italian Alps. Oecologia, 106, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00334412
Luiselli, L., Capula, M., & Shine, R. (1997). Food habits, growth rates, and reproductive biology of grass snakes, Natrix natrix [Colubridae] in the Italian Alps. Journal of Zoology, 241, 371–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb01965.x
Madsen, T., Ujvari, B., Shine, R., Olsson, M. (2006). Rain, rats and pythons: Climate-driven population dynamics of predators and prey in tropical Australia. January; Austral Ecology, 31(1), 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01540.x
Radovics, D., Szabolc, M., Lengye, S. Mizsei E. (2023). Hide or die when the winds bring wings: predator avoidance by activity shift in a mountain snake. Frontiers in Zoology, 20(17). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-023-00497-w
Shaposhnikov, V.M. & Zhukov, V.P. (1988). Protection of the Elaphe dione on Samarskaya Luka. In: Animal protection in the Middle Volga Region. Kuibyshev, 25–29.
Shine, R. (1980). “Costs” of reproduction in reptiles. Oecologia. 46, 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346972
Seigel, R.A., & Fitch, H.S. (1984). Ecological Patterns of Relative Clutch Mass in Snakes. Oecologia, 61(3), 293–301.
Suárez-Varón, G., Suárez-Rodríguez, O., Granados-González, G., Villagrán-Santa, Cruz, M., Gribbins, K.M., Cortez-Quezada, D., Hernández-Gallegos, O. (2019). Relative clutch mass of Basiliscus vittatus Wiegmann, 1828 (Squamata, Corytophanidae): female morphological constraints. Herpetozoa, 32, 211–219. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.32.e35910
The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (ETS No. 104). (1979). http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/104
Vitt, L.J. & Price, H.J. (1982). Ecological and evolutionary determinants of relative clutch mass in lizards. Herpetologica, 38(1), 237–255. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3892377
Yoshida, T., Ellner, S.P., Jones, L.E., Bohannan, B.J.M., Lenski, R.E., Hairston, Jr. (2007). Cryptic Population Dynamics: Rapid Evolution Masks Trophic Interactions. PLOS Biology, 5(9), e235. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050235
JWB applies the 