Monday, June 6, 2011

Herpatology Walk Stop # 15 Belongs to the Indigo

University of Georgia's research unit, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, has made virtual herparology walk. Stop 15 located in Big Cypress National Preserve, feature the Indigo snake as its featured herp!

According to this article this spieces populations have been dramatically affected by two threats: habitat loss and unsustainable use. The key to its survival  is preservation of a healthy pine forest ecosystem. For this to occur two other species must be maintained as well: the red-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tortoise.



Everything in a healthy ecosytem relies on the complicated relationships between all organisms livinging in it. In this case the Indigo snake in the winter lives exclusivly in the gopher tortoise's burrow. If the tortise isn't around to make a burrow where does this leave the snake?

This article talks about its threatedned status:
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/SPARC/trip15.htm

Here is link to a Indigo snake fact sheet
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/SPARC/PDFs/indigo.pdf

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