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Spectral Analysis Reveals Limited Potential for Enhanced- Wavelength Detection of Invasive Snakes

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Spectral Analysis Reveals Limited Potential for Enhanced- Wavelength Detection of Invasive Snakes 56 ARTICLES front of a house supports that this species is able to breed in dis- GOSNER, K. L. 1960. A simplified table for staging anuran embryos and turbed areas. More data on recruitment success and long-term larvae with notes on identification. Herpetologica 16:183–190. population trends are necessary. JUNGFER, K. 1996. Reproduction and parental care of the coronated treefrog, Anotheca spinosa (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura: Hylidae). Acknowledgments.—We thank Ernest Carman and Ernesto Car- Herpetologica 52:25–32. OBINSON Anotheca coronata man Jr. for their hospitality and permission to access and conduct R , D. C. 1961. The identity of the tadpole of fieldwork on their farm. We thank Gilbert Barrantes, James. V. Rem- (Stejneger). Copeia 1961:495. sen, Carlos Guarnizo, Sabrina Amador, and Michael J. Ryan for their santos-BaRReRa, G.,o. FLoRes-ViLLeLa, F. soLís, R. iBáñez, J. saVaGe, G. HAVES AND UBICKI Anotheca spinosa In valuable comments and revision of the manuscript. C , B. K . 2004. IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. <www.iucnredlist. org>. Downloaded on 03 July 2012. LITERATURE CITED SAVAGE, J. M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Her- petofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. Univer- DUELLMAN, W. E. 2001. The Hylid Frogs of Middle America, 2 vols, re- sity of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 934 pp. vised. SSAR Contributions to Herpetology, Ithaca, New York. 1159 STEINDACHNER, F. 1864. Batrachologische Mittheilungen. Verhandlun- pp. + 92 plates. gen des Zoologisch-Botanischen Vereins in Wien. 14:239–288. CHARIF, R. A., C. W. CLARK, AND K. M. FRISTRUP. 2008. Raven 1.2 User’s TAYLOR, E. H. 1954. Frog-egg-eating tadpoles of Anotheca coronata Manual. Ithaca, New York, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. 326 (Stejneger) (Salientia, Hylidae). Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 36(8):589– pp. 595. Herpetological Review, 2013, 44(1), 56–58. © 2013 by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Spectral Analysis Reveals Limited Potential for Enhanced- Wavelength Detection of Invasive Snakes Effective control of invasive species often requires novel reduces the likelihood of investment in projects with limited po- and multifaceted approaches. A comprehensive approach to tential for success, and may redirect the allocation of resources the control of invasive Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on toward lines of research that are more likely to bear fruit and be Guam includes trapping (Rodda et al. 1999; Tyrrell et al. 2009), cost-effective. application of toxicants (Savarie et al. 2001), olfactory detec- Spectroscopy is the study of light as a function of wavelength. tion by dogs (Savidge et al. 2011), and visual detection by human Objects reflect light differently at varying wavelengths. Variation searchers (Christy et al. 2010; Rodda and Fritts 1992). While vi- in reflectance within the visible range of the electromagnetic sual searching far surpasses trapping in successfully targeting all spectrum is how we perceive color; however, objects also vary in size classes of snakes (Rodda et al. 2007), it is not cost effective how they reflect light at wavelengths beyond those we can per- to implement in large-scale control efforts due to high labor de- ceive with the human eye, such as in the ultraviolet and infra-red mands and inherently low detectability of these cryptic snakes wavelengths (see Fig. 1). An object’s reflectance of electromag- (Christy et al. 2010). Technologies that significantly and cost-ef- netic radiation as a function of wavelength is known as a “spec- fectively increase the detectability of snakes by human searchers tral profile.” In comparing objects, marked differences between may be welcome additions to a comprehensive toolbox for inva- their spectral profiles provide the contrast that can be used to sive species research and management. differentiate between them. Though the coloration of invasive snakes to the unaided Our objective was to determine whether the spectrum pro- human eye may be cryptic and not easily distinguished from files of Brown Treesnakes exhibit any absorptions in reflectance the surrounding habitat, it has been hypothesized that detec- which may be exploited to increase our ability to distinguish tion could be facilitated by selectively filtering or amplifying them from surrounding vegetation. If such spectral features exist portions of the visible light spectrum or converting invisible in- within the visible range of the spectrum, we might increase an frared or ultraviolet wavelengths in to high-contrast visible proxy observer’s chance of sighting a snake by preferentially filtering or images (as is done by night vision goggles). Such novel applica- supplementing light at key wavelengths through filtered lenses tions of advanced technologies have inherent appeal, but should or light sources. Should such features be found in the non-visible be thoroughly vetted before significant investment of scarce ultraviolet or infrared domains, potential may exist for devel- resources. Thorough vetting of proposed control technologies oping technologies which use sensors responsive to the targeted wavelength and translate the signal to a high-contrast visible SHANE R. SIERS* image. Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Materials and Methods.—To assess whether Brown Treesnakes Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA have any spectral reflectance features that might be exploited in GREGG A. SWAYZE order to increase our ability to detect snakes in surrounding veg- U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA etation, we used an ultraviolet-near infrared (UV-NIR) field spec- STEPHEN P. MACKESSY trometer to characterize the spectral profiles of dorsal, lateral School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, and ventral surfaces of six captive Brown Treesnakes collected Colorado 80639, USA from Guam. Laboratory reflectance measurements were made ® *Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] with an ASD Inc. Fieldspec Full Range Spectrometer over the wavelength range from 0.35–2.5 microns using a halogen lamp Herpetological Review 44(1), 2013 ARTICLES 57 for illumination and Spectralon® panel for refer- ence. These spectra were converted to absolute reflectance using a NIST traceable spectralon re- flectance spectrum. The ASD spectrometer has 5-nm spectral resolution from 0.35–1.0 microns and 11-nm spectral resolution from 1.0–2.5 mi- crons. Snakes were measured while they were held within the beam of the tungsten lamp about 1 m distant from the light source. The ASD fiber optic probe was held perpendicular to the skin surface and 10 six-second spectra were collected at each location on the snake’s body. These ten spectra were co-averaged and converted to ab- solute reflectance for comparison of skin absorp- tion features. Snake spectra were plotted against reference spectra for woody and leafy vegetation and examined for wavelengths of marked con- FIG. 1. Electromagnetic spectrum (© Wikimedia Commons, reproduced under the GNU Free Documentation License). The visible portion of the spectrum is from ap- trast (Fig. 2). proximately 400–700 nm, or 0.4–0.7 microns. Ideally, we hoped to identify one or more wavelengths at which Brown Treesnakes exhibit a peak of reflectance with respect to other ob- jects in their environment (primarily woody and leafy vegetation). Spectra were also recorded from a Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) and a Mangrove Monitor (Varanus in- dicus) as these species may also be encountered during Brown Treesnake surveys. Additionally, we took this opportunity to determine whether diagnostic absorption features existed for a Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) from Indo- nesia, a closely-related Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila), a Western Hognose Snake (Heter- odon nasicus), and a Massasauga (Sistrurus cat- enatus). This methodology provides a high-res- olution spectrum profile for the entire range of wavelengths investigated. It is not proposed as a field application for snake detection, but rather to identify a small subset of wavelengths which FIG. 2. Plot of spectral reflectance profiles of dorsal, lateral, and ventral surfaces of one could be selectively filtered or amplified with Brown Treesnake (BTS) specimen against reference spectra from woody and leafy veg- etation. Arrows highlight notable spectral features. equipment designed for field detection. Results and Discussion.—Sample spectra from the ventral, lateral, and dorsal surfaces of a single Brown Treesnake specimen are plotted against reference spectra from woody and leafy vegetation in Fig. 2, while the range of all spectra from three surfaces of six Brown Treesnakes are depicted in Fig. 3. The only range within which Brown Treesnake reflectance exceeds the reflec- tance of vegetation is the ventral surface of the snake across the visible range of the spectrum. High reflectance across the visible spectrum is seen as white. This will be no surprise to ex- perienced Brown Treesnake surveyors whose search image is typically triggered by the white to whitish-yellow underbelly of snakes perched in arboreal activity. The low reflectance of blues, moderate reflectance of greens and higher re- flectance of reds in all body surfaces are per- ceived as the olive-brown color characteristic of FIG. 3. Spectral reflectance profiles showing the mean (solid black), maximum and Brown Treesnakes, increasing in darkness from minimum reflectance (dashed black lines) from all surfaces (dorsal,
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