Lake Erie water snakes grow in numbers, help ecosystem
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Lake Erie water snakes grow in numbers, help ecosystemUpdated 6/6/2010 6:59 PM
By Stephanie Steinberg, USA TODAYFor a lot of people, being bitten by a snake is one of their No. 1 fears. But two snake lovers have willingly suffered thousands of bites in an effort to help save one threatened species.Richard King, an associate professor of biology at Northern Illinois University, has spent 30 years studying the Lake Erie water snake (Nerodia sipedon insularum). Over the past 11 years, he and Ph.D. student Kristin Stanford have tracked the population in Ohio's Put-in-Bay Harbor — the only place in the world they're found.
During the first two weeks in June as part of the annual Lake Erie water snake census, King, Stanford and about 40 volunteers will capture as many snakes as they can and mark them with a number-encoded microchip.
FACT SHEET: Learn more about the Lake Erie water snakeTheir work seems to be paying off.
Last Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove the Lake Erie water snake from the list of threatened species. According to the service, the species has sustained the targeted recovery population of at least 5,555 snakes for the past six years.
If the proposal passes, King and Stanford will continue monitoring the population for five more years to ensure no new threats arise.
Megan Seymour, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says King and Stanford are primarily responsible for the recovery of the species. Seymour says there were 1,520 to 2,000 adult Lake Erie water snakes when the population was first counted in 1999. Today, King says, there are more than 12,000 Lake Erie water snakes.
The snakes are a key predator in Lake Erie's aquatic ecosystem — feeding on species such as mudpuppies and native fish such as walleye and smallmouth bass. Since the 1990s, the Lake Erie water snake has preyed upon an invasive fish species from Europe called the goby. The snake has played a vital role in decreasing the goby population, which competes with native fish for food and space.
The snakes, which grow from 1½ to 3½ feet long, have bitten Stanford at least 1,000 times, but she says the bites don't bother her because the snakes aren't venomous, and the marks usually heal in a few days.
Besides coordinating the census, Stanford plans education programs for children and adults in the community.
"A lot of the fear and discomfort a lot of people have with snakes is due to a lack of education or a lack of personal experience with them," Stanford says. "We try to start with kids and show that you can have an interaction with a snake, and it could be a good one."