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A Capture–Recapture Study on the Orsini's Viper in the French Alps

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A Capture–Recapture Study on the Orsini's Viper in the French Alps Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430 Prescribed fire and conservation of a threatened mountain grassland specialist: a capture–recapture study on the Orsini’s viper in the French alps A. Lyet1,2, M. Cheylan1, R. Prodon1 & A. Besnard1 1 Laboratoire de Biogeographie´ et d’Ecologie des Vertebr´ es,´ Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Centre d’Ecologie Evolutive et Fonctionnelle, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France 2 Conservatoire – Etude des Ecosyste` mes de Provence – Alpes du Sud, 13090 Aix en Provence, France Keywords Abstract conservation; threatened species; fire impact; fire management; mark–recapture; multistate Burning has traditionally been used in the southern French Alps to maintain open modeling; survival; Vipera ursinii. lands for grazing. In the context of land use abandonment, prescribed burning may be the only realistic practical tool available to oppose encroachment by woody Correspondence plants in numerous mountainous landscapes. Although only recently developed as Arnaud Lyet, Conservatoire – Etude des a modern tool for wildfire prevention and management of pastoral grasslands, this Ecosyste` mes de Provence – Alpes du Sud, practice is now becoming widespread, which raises the issue of its impact on the 890 chemin de Bouenhoure haut, 13090 Aix fauna in general, and on endangered species in particular. We studied the impact of en Provence, France. Tel: +33 4 92 36 08 a prescribed fire on the survival and small-scale movements of one of the rarest 72; Fax: +33492360872 snakes in Europe, the Orsini’s viper Vipera ursinii, in order to evaluate its potential Email: [email protected] threat to population sustainability. We evaluated the body condition of snakes and the quality of their habitat, more precisely the abundance of grasshoppers as the Received 11 September 2008; accepted 19 main food resource, and the vegetation cover as shelter. About 3.6 ha of a 8.8 ha January 2008 study site was burnt in autumn 2003. Snake population parameters were estimated using multi-state capture–mark–recapture methods. We demonstrate that burning doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00245.x reduced the survival of the vipers by more than half during the first year following the fire. Contrary to what was expected, there was no evidence of emigration from the burned to the unburned area immediately after the fire. Despite the decrease in grasshopper density and vegetation cover in the burned area, there was no evidence of mid-term mortality in snakes that could result from an increased predation rate or from the reduced body condition of snakes. As such high mortality, mainly or entirely due to the direct effect of fire, is likely to have large repercussions on population sustainability, we suggest several improvements of prescribed fire protocols to minimize their impact and strongly emphasize the need for a prescribed fire policy that takes into account specific recommendations for threatened species like Orsini’s viper. The case of the Orsini’s viper is very typical of conservation problems in open mountain lands, and we believe that our research will help determine the most suitable approach for long-term conserva- tion of biodiversity in such semi-natural ecosystems. Introduction recently been revived by Mediterranean management agen- cies as a modern tool for wildfire prevention and manage- The historic role of fire and grazing in the establishment and ment of natural grasslands (Lambert, 1999; Ribet, 2005). maintenance of montane grasslands throughout the Medi- Consequently, prescribed burnings are now practiced on terranean region has been well documented (Barbero et al., large areas in the south of France (Lambert, 1999), which 1987). Traditional fire and grazing have progressively de- raises the issue of its impact on the fauna. creased following the decline in pastoral practices through- Scientists interested in reptile conservation (Ford et al., out the 20th century (Cernusca, Tappeiner & Bayfield, 1999; Smith et al., 2001; Fenner & Bull, 2007; Driscoll & 1999), resulting in a progressive degradation of grasslands Henderson, 2008) have criticized the use of fire as a manage- (Cernusca et al., 1999; Chauchard, Carcaillet & Guibal, ment tool. Indeed, isolated populations of animals with low 2007). Burning, which was traditionally used to curb en- movement capabilities may be unable to survive extended croachment by woody plants (Rigolot et al., 2002), has and repeated fires. 238 Animal Conservation 12 (2009) 238–248 c 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation c 2009 The Zoological Society of London A. Lyet et al. Prescribed fire impact on Orsini’s viper The short-term impact of fires on Mediterranean grass- Methods land or shrubland-dwelling animal species has been evalu- ated for snails (Kiss & Magnin, 2006), insects (e.g. Panzer, Study area 2002; Puissant & Prodon, 2002; Cook & Holt, 2006), birds (e.g. Pons & Prodon, 1996; Pons et al., 2003b), reptiles (e.g. Our study site was located in the south-eastern French Alps, Cheylan & Poitevin, 1998; Hailey, 2000; Smith et al., 2001; near Digne-Les-Bains. The site ranged from 1590 to 1780 m Fenner & Bull, 2007) and small mammals (Prodon, Fons & a.s.l. and had a Mediterranean-montane climate. The habitat Peter, 1984). Ten of these studies were based on abundance was typical of the mountain steppe meadows of montane and indices or abundance estimates and thus present two major subalpine climatic life zones (mesophil series of Pinus sylves- drawbacks. First, neglecting recapture probabilities in po- tris). The herbaceous community was dominated by Helicto- pulation dynamics is likely to lead to flawed conclusions trichon sempervirens (which forms tussocks), Festuca ovina (Schmidt, Schaub & Anholt, 2002), and hence to a reduced and Bromus erectus. Bushes, mainly Genista cinerea and power to detect fire impact. Next, abundance indices do not Lavandula angustifolia, formed a low and open heath of allow the two mechanisms responsible for local population 40 cm mean height, without any tree species. The bedrock decrease, namely mortality and emigration, to be distin- consisted of Jurassic limestone that offered to snakes numer- guished. That is why recent studies on fire impact use ous cavities and crevices as shelters for hibernation and refuge individual-based methods such as capture–recapture (Hai- from predators. The site is used each year between mid-June ley, 2000; Monimeau et al., 2002; Pons et al., 2003a; Lee & and late September for extensive sheep grazing. Tietje, 2005). The aim of our study was to estimate the impact of Fire experimental design prescribed fire on the survival and small-scale movements of a highly endangered snake, the Orsini’s viper Vipera In agreement with the landowner and the sheep breeder, ursinii. This species is the smallest European viper and who wanted to burn the grassland to curb its encroachment typically lives in open mountain grasslands in southeastern and produce younger grass, we planned our burning design France. The Orsini’s viper feeds mainly on grasshoppers, (Fig. 1). We conducted a preliminary study on a 35 ha area which represents 99% of its diet (Baron, 1992). It is classified for 3 years (1997–1999), in order to evaluate the density and as ‘endangered’ by the World Conservation Union (IUCN, the fine-scale distribution of the Orsini’s viper. We homo- 2007) and is subject to a European conservation project geneously prospected the whole area each year for 10 days (LIFE06/NAT/F/000143). Encroachment of grasslands by between July and August, systematically recording each woody plants following land abandonment is considered as location of Orsini’s viper. Based on these records and on the main threat for the species, but burning, which may be the evaluation of the species home range obtained from the only practical way of preventing viper habitat from another site (0.09 Æ 0.09 ha for females, n=18, and being lost to encroaching forest at least in some areas, is 0.16 Æ 0.08 for males, n=11; J.-P. Baron, unpubl. data), also thought to be responsible for some population decline we defined a CMR study site of 8.8 ha within the 35 ha area, or extinction (Penloup, Orsini & Cheylan, 1999). The situa- in a location with a high density of snakes, but surrounded tion of the Orsini’s viper in the French Alps is particularly by low density areas in order to reduce the risk of immigra- representative of conservation problems of grassland- or tion or emigration. Within this CMR study site, we delim- shrubland-dwelling species with low dispersal ability in ited an area of 3.6 ha to be burned. European mountain ecosystems. We therefore believe that The prescribed fire was conducted by firemen on the our research would support broader inferences about the 16 October 2003, from 11:50 AM to 16:00 PM, in sunny weath- effects of prescribed fire on wild fauna and help determine er and mild temperatures. The vipers usually begin to the most suitable approach for long-term conservation of hibernate in October but individuals occasionally come out biodiversity in such semi-natural ecosystems. to bask on warmer days (Baron, 1992; Ujvari´ & Korsos,´ We used an experimental design combined with a multi- 1999), so that some may have been active during the fire. state capture–mark–recapture (CMR) method, together Owing to some fuel biomass heterogeneity, the fire resulted with an evaluation of the body condition of snakes and a in a mosaic of moderate-severity (mainly aerial parts of the survey of vegetation structure and food availability, to test plants were burnt) and high-severity (aerial parts and super- several hypotheses on the effects of fire on the Orsini’s viper ficial roots of the plants were burnt) burned areas, with a population. We first expected fire to increase the mortality ratio of approximately one to three. In our CMR analysis, of the viper, either by direct and short-term impact, or by we compared the 3.6 ha burned area with the 5.2 ha control delayed effects.
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