Snake community structure in a heterogeneous fynbos ecosystem

Abstract

Snakes occur in most terrestrial ecosystems, forming an integral part of many ecological communities. A diverse community of snakes in an ecosystem can indicate a complex habitat structure capable of supporting a diverse assemblage of faunal species. I utilised multiple non-invasive and non-lethal trapping methods to quantify diversity metrics for the snake community occurring in a heterogeneous fynbos ecosystem within the Koeberg Private Nature Reserve (KPNR) over one-year period. Additionally, I sampled the species richness and abundance of snake predators and prey within the reserve and tested the hypothesis that the snake community was impacted by the abundance and diversity of snake predators and prey. I performed several statistical analyses to identify the factors that influence the snake community structure observed in KPNR.