Community structure and ecology of snakes in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) in the Niger Delta, southern Nigeria Export

@article{citeulike:3736796, abstract = {Aspects of community structure and ecology of snakes were studied in the years 2004-2006 in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) of three study areas in Southern Nigeria. A total of 284 individual snakes, belonging to twelve species of three families (seven Colubridae, four Elapidae, one Viperidae), were recorded, including both sighted and captured individuals (not including in this count the individuals that escaped before identification to species level could be made). All the study areas were nearly identical in terms of species composition. Most snakes (about 67\%) were recorded during the dry season months, when the fruits of the oil palm ripe, thus attracting lots of organisms that are potential prey for snakes. The most important food items for oil palm snakes were Agama lizards, birds and rodents, but they also fed on skinks, geckos, fruit bats and tree frogs. Snakes were spotted climbing with peak frequencies occurring in the range of 16-18 m above the ground level. In general, oil palm trees within the range of 16-27 m high harboured higher number of snakes. Climbing snakes were nonrandomly positioned on the trees: the highest percentage of snakes (68\%) was lodged between the leaf bases and oil palm fruit bunches. The general implications of the given data are discussed.}, address = {Department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria; Centre of Environmental Studies DEMETRA s.r.l., Via Olona 7, I-00198 Rome, Italy; Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Uyo, PMB 1017, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria}, author = {Akani, Godfrey C. and Ebere, Nwabueze and Luiselli, Luca and Eniang, Edem A.}, citeulike-article-id = {3736796}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00885.x}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/120121690/ABSTRACT}, comment = {The study area was not the modern, intensive, high-yielding type of plantation typical of SE Asia, but part of the "characteristic, largely human-managed, forest habitat type [with oil palm as] one of the dominant trees in the humid and secondary forests of southern Nigeria". Native oil palms are just one element of these landscapes (though often the dominant tree species). }, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00885.x}, journal = {African Journal of Ecology}, keywords = {africa, oil\_palm, reptiles}, number = {4}, pages = {500--506}, posted-at = {2008-12-02 20:12:07}, priority = {2}, title = {Community structure and ecology of snakes in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) in the Niger Delta, southern Nigeria}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00885.x}, volume = {46}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3736796 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3736796 N2 - Aspects of community structure and ecology of snakes were studied in the years 2004-2006 in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) of three study areas in Southern Nigeria. A total of 284 individual snakes, belonging to twelve species of three families (seven Colubridae, four Elapidae, one Viperidae), were recorded, including both sighted and captured individuals (not including in this count the individuals that escaped before identification to species level could be made). All the study areas were nearly identical in terms of species composition. Most snakes (about 67%) were recorded during the dry season months, when the fruits of the oil palm ripe, thus attracting lots of organisms that are potential prey for snakes. The most important food items for oil palm snakes were Agama lizards, birds and rodents, but they also fed on skinks, geckos, fruit bats and tree frogs. Snakes were spotted climbing with peak frequencies occurring in the range of 16-18 m above the ground level. In general, oil palm trees within the range of 16-27 m high harboured higher number of snakes. Climbing snakes were nonrandomly positioned on the trees: the highest percentage of snakes (68%) was lodged between the leaf bases and oil palm fruit bunches. The general implications of the given data are discussed. IS - 4 JF - African Journal of Ecology AD - Department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria; Centre of Environmental Studies DEMETRA s.r.l., Via Olona 7, I-00198 Rome, Italy; Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Uyo, PMB 1017, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria EP - 506 TI - Community structure and ecology of snakes in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) in the Niger Delta, southern Nigeria VL - 46 SP - 500 KW - africa KW - oil_palm KW - reptiles N1 - The study area was not the modern, intensive, high-yielding type of plantation typical of SE Asia, but part of the "characteristic, largely human-managed, forest habitat type [with oil palm as] one of the dominant trees in the humid and secondary forests of southern Nigeria". Native oil palms are just one element of these landscapes (though often the dominant tree species). AU - Akani, Godfrey AU - Ebere, Nwabueze AU - Luiselli, Luca AU - Eniang, Edem PY - 2008/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00885.x ER -