Control of the ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris) on Formentera using experimental live-traps.

In: C.R. Veitch, M.N. Clout, A.R. Martin, J.C. Russell and C.J. West (eds.) (2019). Island invasives: scaling
up to meet the challenge, pp. 332–336. Occasional Paper SSC no. 62. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

Abstract:

The ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris ) is a recent alien invasive species found on Formentera (83 km2), in the Balearic Archipelago (4,492 km2). It has been introduced in the last decade as cargo stowaway hidden within ornamental olive trees from the Iberian Peninsula, causing negative impacts on native fauna. This paper describes the methodology used to reduce the ladder snake population as a first attempt since it was detected in 2006. For this purpose, an experimental live-trap was designed by the wildlife management team of the Consorci per a la Recuperació de la Fauna de les Illes Balears (COFIB) during the 2016 campaign. As a result, 314 R. scalaris were trapped in an area of 472 ha, achieving an efficiency of up to 0.167 captures per trap and night, and 0.040 captures per unit effort on average. This outcome encourages the use of the live-trap as a cost-effective method for reducing the snake population in Formentera. Nonetheless, this method should be considered a starting point toward R. scalaris control.

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