- This topic has 3 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 2022-05-28 at 15:52 by .
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clive
- Grazalema
Hard to believe a few snakes in olive trees could have increased in populations so quickly and enough to threaten an entire lizard species on Ibiza,,,,
At the beginning of the 21st century, hundreds of large ornamental olive trees were imported from the southern Iberian Peninsula to the Balearic Islands to cater to a fad for Mediterranean landscaping. These trees brought with them to Ibiza three species of stowaway snakes: Malpolon monspessulanus, which appears to have disappeared; Zamenis scalaris, which maintains a small but stable population on the island; and Hemorrhois hippocrepis, which has rapidly expanded (Álvarez et al. 2010; Silva-Rocha et al. 2018). On Ibiza, H. hippocrepis has a diet mainly (56% in frequency) composed of the endemic Ibiza wall lizard (Podarcis pityusensis; Hinckley et al. 2017). This degree of lizard consumption is the highest documented for any population of H. hippocrepis (Hinckley et al. 2017), and, together with the abundance of the newcomer, may negatively impact the endemic lizard.
Read the study here: https://academic.oup.com/cz/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cz/zoab022/6168145
And an interesting article in Spanish here: https://www.noudiari.es/local-ibiza/la-lagartija-pitiusa-estara-extinguida-antes-de-2030-a-causa-de-las-serpientes/
Take a trip on the Wildside!
https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)
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clive
- Grazalema
Another article here detailing the work of the people setting traps for the invasive snakes…. https://www.noudiari.es/local-ibiza/las-serpientes-salen-de-la-hibernacion-y-aumentan-los-avistamientos-y-capturas-en-ibiza/
And a video here showing how to download the app to your phone for registering sightings and trapped snakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLv6RzU24l4
Take a trip on the Wildside!
https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)
https://grazalemaguide.com/ (All my web projects in one portal and everything you need to know about Grazalema)
clive
- Grazalema
Interesting to see that the governments of both the Balearics and the Canary islands are now collaborating together in order to control the spread of introduced snake species….
The Californian kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) seems to be causing problems in the canary islands
Take a trip on the Wildside!
https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)
https://grazalemaguide.com/ (All my web projects in one portal and everything you need to know about Grazalema)
Rachel
The Guardian have picked up on the story with quite a large and informative article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/27/snakes-or-lizards-stark-game-of-survival-ibiza-aoe
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