Abstract
The present paper discusses preliminary data on population characteristics and ecology of the meadow viper Vipera ursinii in the Romanian Danube Delta. Using line transects and the Distance software, the size of the studied population was estimated at 321 (95% confidence interval: 166–618) individuals on a 62 ha area. The sex-ratio of the population was close to 1:1 and juvenile specimens were well represented. Half of the captured adult females were gravid, possibly indicating a more than annual reproductive cycle. Analysis of sexual dimorphism of 12 morphometric traits indicated significant differences only in tail length and height. No significant relationships were detected between the size, sex, age or reproductive status and the thermal ecology of the vipers. Microhabitat selection and activity patterns varied with age, sex and reproductive status and are probably linked to an onthogenetic shift in feeding ecology and to behavioral differences between reproductive and non-reproductive females.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baron J.-P. 1992. Regime et cycles alimentaires de la Vipere d’Orsini (Vipera ursinii Bonaparte, 1835) au Mont Ventoux, France. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie). 47: 287–311.
Baron J.-P. 1997. Demographie et dynamique d’ une population francaise de Vipera ursinii ursinii (Bonaparte, 1835). These de Doctorat, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, 201 pp.
Bonnet X., Naulleau B., Schine R. & Lourdais O. 2001. Shortterm versus long-term effects on food intake on reproductive output in a viviparous snake, Vipera aspis. Oikos 92: 297–308. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.920212.x
Brito J.C. 2003. Seasonal and daily activity patterns of Vipera latastei in northern Portugal. Amphibia — Reptilia 24: 497–508. DOI: 10.1163/156853803322763954
Carretero M.A., Macros E. & de Prado P. 2006. Intraspecific variation of preffered temperatures in the NE form of Podarcis hispanica, pp. 55–64. In: Corti C., Lo Cascio P. & Biaggini M. (eds), Mainland and Insular Lacertid Lizards: a Mediteranean Perspective, Firenze University Press, Florence.
Crnobrnja-Isailović J., Ajtic R. & Tomović L. 2007. Activity patterns of the sand viper (Vipera ammodytes) from the central Balkans. Amphibia — Reptilia 28: 582–589. DOI: 10.1163/156853807782152598
Edgar P. & Bird D.R. 2006. Action plan for the Conservation of the Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii) in Europe. Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats Standing Commitee, 26th meeting, Strasbourg, 27–29 November, T-PVS/Inf (2006) 21.
Gâştescu P. & Ştiucă R. (ed.) 2006. Delta Dunării Rezervaşie a Biosferei. Editura Dobrogea, CD Press, Constanşa, 498 pp.
Ghira I. 2007. Rediscovery of Vipera ursinii rakosiensis in Transylvania. Herpetol. Romanica 1: 77–81.
Halpern B. & Pechy T. 2002. Conservation activities on Hungarian meadow vipers (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) on the field, pp. 68–70. In: Kovacs T., Korsos Z., Rehak I., Corbett K. & Miller P.S. (eds), Population and habitat viability assesment (PHVA) for the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis), Workshop Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, MN, USA.
Iftime A. 2005. Reptile, pp. 173–196. In: Bodnarescu N. & Tatole V. (eds), Cartea Roşie a Vertebratelor din România, Ed. Academiei, Bucureşti.
Kotenko T.I. & Kukushkin A.V. 2008. Hadyuka stepova, Vipera renardi (Christ.) — vyd Chervonoĭ knyhy Ukrainy [Steppe viper, Vipera renardi (Christ.) — species of the Red Book of Ukraine], pp.101–132. In: Kostyushyn A.V. (ed.), Znakhidky tvaryn Chervonoĭ knyhy Ukrainy [Animal Discoveries Red Book of Ukraine], The Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev.
Kotenko T. & Oţel V. 1997. Perişor-Periteaşca area of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve as reservation for reptiles and amphibians. Analele St. Inst. Delta Dunării, Tulcea 5: 171–188.
Krecsak L. & Zamfirescu Ş.R. 2001. Ecological situation and morphological characteristics of Vipera ursinii moldavica in the “Valea lui David” Natural Reserve. Russ. J. Herpetol. 8: 69–73.
Krecsak L. & Zamfirescu Ş. 2008. Vipera (Acridophaga) ursinii in Romania: historical and present distribution. North-West. J. Zool. 4: 339–359.
Krecsak L., Zamfirescu Ş. & Korsos Z. 2003. An updated overview of the distribution of the Moldavian Steppe Viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica Nilson, Andren and Joger, 1993). Russ. J. Herpetol. 10: 199–206.
Kukushkin O.V. 2004. Rasprostranenie, reproduktivnye osobennosti, razmerno-vozrastnaya struktura i sovremennoe sostoyanie populatsii stepnoĭ gaduki, Vipera renardi (Christoph, 1861), v Krymu [Distribution, reproductive peculiarities, size-ages structure and current status of the populations of the Steppe Viper, Vipera renardi (Christoph, 1861), in the Crimea], pp. 397–424. In: Karadag. Istoria, geologia, botanika, zoologia, kniga, Vol. 1, SONAT, Simferopol’.
Luiselli L. 1990. Captive breeding of Vipera ursinii ursinii (Reptilia, Viperidae). Brit. Herpetol. Soc. Bull. 34: 23–30.
Luiselli L. 2006. Site occupancy and density of sympatric Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) and nose-horned viper (Bitis nasicornis). J. Trop. Ecol. 22: 555–564. DOI: 10.1017/S0266467406003397
Luiselli L. & Agrimi U. 1991. Composition and variation of the diet of Vipera aspis francisciredi in relation to age and reproductive stage. Amphibia — Reptilia 12: 137–144. DOI: 10.1163/156853891X00103
Luiselli L., Angelici F.M & Akani G.C. 2000. Arboreal habits and viper biology in the African rainforest: the ecology of Atheris squamiger. Israel J. Zool. 46: 273–286.
Luiselli L., Filippi E. & Di Lena E. 2006. Ecological relationships between sympatric Vipera aspis and Vipera ursinii in high altitude habitats of Central Italy. J. Herpetol. 41: 378–384.
Lyet A., Cheylan M., Prodon R. & Besnard A. 2009. Prescribed fire and conservation of a threatened mountain grassland specialist: a capture-recapture study on the Orsini’s viper in the French Alps. Anim. Conserv. 12: 238–248.
Mallow D., Ludwig D. & Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers. Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, Florida, 359 pp.
Nilson G. & Andrén C. 2001. The Meadow and Steppe Vipers of Europe and Asia — The Vipera (Acridophaga) ursinii complex. Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 47: 86–267.
Santos X., Brito J.C., Neftali S., Pleguezuelos J.M., Llorente G.A., Fahd S. & Parellada X. 2006. Inffering habitat-suitability areas with ecological modelling techniques and GIS: A contribution to asses the conservation status of Vipera latastei. Biol. Conserv. 130: 416–425. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2006.01.003
Seigel R.A., Collins J.T. & Novak S.S. (eds). 1987. Snakes. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Mc-Graw Hill, New York, 529 pp.
Shine R. 1994. Sexual size dimorphism in snakes revisited. Copeia 1994: 326–346.
Shine R., Olsson M.M., Moore I.T., LeMaster M.P. & Mason R.T. 1999. Why do male snakes have longer tails than females? Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 266: 2147–2151. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1999.0901
Simonov E. 2009. Differences in habitat use, daily activity patterns and preferred ambient temperatures of adult and neonate Gloydius halys halys from an isolated population in southwest Siberia: preliminary data. Herpetol. Notes 2: 1–7.
Thomas L., Laake J.L., Strindberg S., Marques F.F.C., Buckland S.T., Borchers D.L., Anderson D.R., Burnham K.P., Hedley S.L., Pollard J.H., Bishop J.R.B. & Marques T.A. 2005. Distance 5.0. Research Unit for Wildlife Population Assesment, University of St. Andrews, UK, available at: http://www.ruwpa.st-and.ac.uk./distance.
Tomović L., Crnobrnja-Isailović J. & Ajtic R. 2004. A preliminary study of the population ecology of Vipera ursinii macrops from eastern Montenegro. Amphibia — Reptilia 25: 316–320. DOI: 10/1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00556.x
Török Z. 2002. Potential management plan for conservation of Vipera ursinii from the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (Romania). Sci. Ann. Danube Delta Inst. Res. Dev. 9: 174–184.
Ujvari B. & Korsos Z. 1997. Thermoregulation and movements of radiotracked Vipera ursinii rakosiensis in Hungary, pp. 367–372. In: Boehme W., Bischoff W. & Ziegler T. (eds), Herpetologia Bonnensis.
Ujvari B., Korsos Z. & Pechy T. 2000. Life history, population characteristics and conservation of the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis). Amphibia — Reptilia 21: 267–278. DOI: 10/1163/156853800507417
Ursenbacher S., Monney J.C. & Fumagalli L. 2009. Limited genetic diversity and high differentiation among the remnant adder (Vipera berus) populations in the Swiss and French Jura Mountains. Conserv. Genet. 10: 303–315.
Valdujo P.H., Nogueira C. & Martins M. 2002. Ecology of Bothrops newiedi pauloensis (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) in the Brazilian Cerrado. J. Herpetol. 36: 169–176.
Zamfirescu Ş. & Krecsak L. 2002. Influence of environmental temperature on the body temperature of Vipera ursinii moldavica, pp. 173–178. In:Tomescu N. & Popa V. (eds), In Memoriam Professor Dr. Doc. Vasile Gh. Radu Corresponding Member of Romanian Academy of Sciences, Cluj University Press, Cluj-Napoca.
Zamfirescu Ş.R., Zamfirescu O., Ion C. & Popescu I.E. 2007. Research on the habitats of Vipera ursinii moldavica populations from Iaşi County. Anal. Şiinş. Univ. “Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi, s. Biol. Anim. 53: 159–166.
Zamfirescu Ş.R., Zamfirescu O., Popescu I.E. & Ion C. 2009. Preliminary data on population characteristics of Vipera ursinii moldavica from “Dealul lui Dumnezeu” (Iaşi County, Romania) with notes on conservation. North-West. J. Zool. 5: 85–96.
Zamfirescu Ş.R., Zamfirescu O., Popescu I.E., Ion C. & Strugariu A. 2008. The meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) and its habitats from Moldova (Romania). Ed. Universităşii “Al. I. Cuza”, Iaşi, 141 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strugariu, A., Zamfirescu, Ş.R., Gherghel, I. et al. A preliminary study on population characteristics and ecology of the critically endangered meadow viper Vipera ursinii in the Romanian Danube Delta. Biologia 66, 175–180 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-010-0146-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-010-0146-z