Almost one third of the United States is covered by the tallgrass prairies of the Great Plains. Over the last decades, several efforts have been made in order to restore at least some patches of this immense tallgrass environment, characterized by a variety of habitats ranging from prairie floodplains to upland prairies. Restored prairies often support a remarkable biodiversity; species richness can be further enhanced by artificially enriching the habitat with suitable elements (for instance, coverboards) that generate a variety of microhabitats available to fauna. However, assessing and monitoring the presence and abundance of some elusive species - such as snakes - in restored and enriched habitats can be tricky. 

A recently accepted manuscript describes the impact of plywood and metallic coverboard on snake species detectability in a 212 ha preserve in Nebraska, USA. For three weeks during the fall season, 10 stations (each one containing one metal coverboard and one plywood coverboard) were checked regularly in the morning, in the afternoon, and at dusk, in order to identify and count snakes hiding underneath. Air temperature and humidity for each station were also collected. 

The study highlighted a greater species richness in the prairie floodplain. In addition, the 4 snake species identified in the study area (Thamnophis sirtalis, T. radix, Storeria dekayi and Pantherophis ramspotti) showed a preference for metal coverboards, probably because of high heat conductivity which allows snakes to quickly reach the optimal body temperature, especially during the milder seasons of the year. In summer and in winter, however, wood coverboards might be preferred because of their thermal inertia. Such considerations provide useful insights to design the best practices to maximize the detection rate of snakes throughout the year. 

The full study, that will be published in the next issue of Acta Herpetologica, is available here

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