What can the location of skin sheds tell us? A case study on Montpellier snake <em>Malpolon monspessulanus</em> in southeast France
Keywords:
Montpellier snake, site fidelity, sloughing, southern FranceAbstract
Montpellier snake Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann, 1804) skin sheds were collected over four years from an olive grove (0.21 ha) in southeast France. Examination of the cephalic scales allowed us to identify the individuals that frequented the site and the regularity of their visits for shedding. Reconstruction of the life histories of the individuals by capture-mark-recapture modelling showed that they visited the site during four consecutive years to shed. This site fidelity could be linked to mating opportunities or egg laying and foraging, or to the distinctive nature of the site, which is a sunny clearing within a dense woodland not very suitable for this thermophilic species. The concentration of the population in a very small area at certain times of the year risks making it vulnerable to predators as well as to changes that the site may undergo in the future, particularly if its agricultural use is abandoned and the woodland encroaches the open field area.
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