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Growth Pattern of Red-tongued Viper Snake (Gloydius ussuriensis) Inhabiting Gapado, Jeju Island

가파도에 서식하는 쇠살모사의 성장 패턴

  • Received : 2016.09.26
  • Accepted : 2016.12.24
  • Published : 2016.12.31

Abstract

We investigated the growth pattern of Red-tongued viper snakes (Gloydius ussuriensis), which were captured from the islet of the Jeju Island, Gapado between April, 2006 and November, 2009. The results indicated that there were some snakes that grew relatively fast, but most snakes either almost did not grow or grew around 10mm in snout-vent length during one year period. High growth rates was April and June. Since the growth rate of snakes is highly correlated with their foods, these results implied that the feeding activity of Red-tongued viper snakes is high during this period compared to other months. In female, difference in body condition between good-conditioned and bad-conditioned snakes became large as time elapsed from April to June. The body condition of the male Red-tongued viper snakes improved with the progression of time from April till June. Many of the Red-tongued viper snakes were captured between April and June, while they were rarely captured between July and September. Some of the Red-tongued viper snakes were captured during the autumn season. This tendency was because snakes were rarely active during hibernation and peak summer seasons. Thus, Red-tongued viper snakes are active between April and June and between September and November. They then go into hibernation as the temperature dropped in November. Furthermore, the limitation of the movement period of the Red-tongued viper snakes restricted their feeding activities while foods became scarce, which ultimately restricted their overall growth rate. The growth rate of the snakes decreased with age. The snout-vent length of the Red-tongued viper snakes and growth rate showed a negative correlation (r = -0.591), however, it was not statistically significant due to small sample size. The findings from this study could provide meaningful information in the further study of the life cycle of Red-tongued viper snakes.

이 연구는 제주도의 부속도서인 가파도에 서식하는 쇠살모사의 성장패턴을 밝히기 위하여 2006년 4월부터 2009년 11월까지 이루어졌다. 연구결과, 쇠살모사는 1-2개월 사이에 상대적으로 빠르게 성장하는 개체들도 있었으나, 대부분의 개체들은 1년 동안 거의 성장하지 않거나 성장을 하더라도 10mm 전후 성장하는 것으로 나타났다. 특히 4~6월 사이에 포획-재포획된 개체들의 성장률이 높아 이 기간에 주로 성장하는 것으로 판단된다. 이는 뱀의 성장률이 먹이의 이용과 관련성이 크기 때문에 먹이활동이 다른 계절에 비해 4~6월에 활발히 이루어진다는 것을 의미하는 것이다. 이 결과를 확인하기 위해 몸 상태 변화를 측정한 결과, 암컷은 4월에서 6월로 갈수록 몸 상태가 좋은 개체와 나쁜 개체간의 차이가 더욱 크게 나타났고, 수컷은 4월에서 6월로 시간이 경과할수록 시간에 따른 몸 상태가 좋아지는 경향성이 있었다. 쇠살모사는 4~6월에 많은 개체가 포획되었으며, 7~9월에는 거의 포획되지 않았고, 가을철에 일부 개체들이 포획되었다. 이러한 결과는 동면기간과 한여름에는 거의 활동하지 않은 데에서 기인하는 것이다. 다시 말해 4~6월과 9~11월에 활동하나 11월에는 기온이 내려가면서 동면에 들어가는 시기라 주로 4~6월과 10월이 활동기라 판단되었다. 이러한 활동기간의 제한은 먹이자원의 제한과 더불어 먹이활동을 할 수 있는 기간의 제한으로 나타나 전반적으로 성장률을 제한시키는 하나의 요인으로 작용하는 것이다. 뱀의 성장률은 연령이 많을수록 낮아지는 경향이 있는데, 몸길이와 성장률은 음의 상관관계(r = -0.591)를 보였으나 표본수가 적어 통계적으로 유의하지는 않았다. 이 연구결과는 쇠살모사의 생활사를 이해하는데 매우 의미 있는 자료로 활용될 것이다.

Keywords

References

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