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Five years of conserving the ‘world's rarest snake’, the Antiguan racer Alsophis antiguae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Jenny C. Daltry ,
Quentin Bloxam ,
Gillian Cooper ,
Mark L. Day ,
John Hartley ,
McRonnie Henry ,
Kevel Lindsay  and
Brian E. Smith
Quentin Bloxam
Affiliation:
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Channel Islands
Gillian Cooper
Affiliation:
Environmental Awareness Group, PO Box 2103, St John's, Antigua, West Indies
Mark L. Day
Affiliation:
Fauna & Flora International, Great Eastern House, Tenison Road, Cambridge CB1 2TT, UK. Tel: +44 1223 571000; e-mail: jenny.daltry@fauna-flora.org
John Hartley
Affiliation:
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Channel Islands
McRonnie Henry
Affiliation:
Forestry Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Nevis Street, St John's, Antigua, West Indies
Kevel Lindsay
Affiliation:
Island Resources Foundation, National Museum of Antigua & Barbuda, Long Street, St John's, Antigua, West Indies
Brian E. Smith
Affiliation:
Black Hills State University, Department of Biology, 1200 University Street Unit 9044, Spearfish, SD 57799-9044, USA
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Abstract

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Abstract The Critically Endangered Antiguan racer Alsophis antiguae is confined to Great Bird Island, a 9.9 ha (24.5-acre) islet off the north-east coast of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles. This island represents well under 0.1 per cent of the species's historical distribution range. During the past 5 years, the total number of racers aged 1 year or more has fluctuated between 51 and 114, and currently stands at approximately 80. Since 1995, the Antiguan Racer Conservation Project (ARCP) has en-deavoured to save this harmless snake from extinction by using a combination of education, conservation breeding, habitat restoration, local capacity building and applied research. The Antiguan racer's ecology and population dynamics have become well understood after 5 years of intensive study, and the species has evidently benefited from the project's rat eradication programme. The snakes are still seriously threatened by other intrinsic and extrinsic factors, however, including inbreeding depression, frequent hurricanes, invasive predators and deliberate killing by tourists, as well as the problem that Great Bird Island is too small to support more than about 100 individuals. This paper describes the activities and impact of this project to date, and outlines a series of conservation activities to safeguard the long-term future of the species, which include reintroduction of the Antiguan racer to restored islands within its former distribution range.

Keywords

AlsophisAntiguaAntiguan racerconservationinvasive speciesreintroduction
Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , April 2001 , pp. 119 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 2001

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