Money raised by SARG has been used to buy corrugated iron, which is cut into tins and used for reptile survey. Reptiles (particularly snakes and slow worms) bask under refugia (tins), as they cannot see the sky and feel safe from their main predators (birds). The tins warm up in the sun and allow the reptiles to gain the warmth they need to regulate their body temperature.
Reptile survey can be as simple as lifting tins to see which reptiles are underneath.
These new tins will be used to survey 40 hectares of Frensham Common, for which we have very little idea of reptile distribution. Frensham is one of our key sites in Surrey, supporting all six species of native reptiles. This site will be used for an MSc study to determine how to improve reptile survey methods.
1 comment:
I remember as a kid spending hours at a time looking under old roofing tin for lizards and snakes. Didn't realize at the time it was actually part of the "scientific method".
Post a Comment