There are a number of research projects underway that are designed to answer the basic questions that will allow us to understand the ribbonsnake's life history, habitat requirements and the threats facing it.

Intensive surveys at a single site

Intensive surveys have been underway at the largest known concentration in the province, Grafton Lake, Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site to document basic population biology and structure, observe snake behaviour as well as locate and characterize overwintering sites, summer feeding areas, and seasonal travel routes.

These surveys require intensive work, particularly in spring (April-May) and fall (Sept-Oct) as we try to track the snakes to their overwintering sites. To accomplish this we use the help of trained researchers and volunteers. Groups go out for 2-4 hours each day and slowly walk along the shoreline looking for ribbonsnakes. We attempt to capture all snakes sighted to identify individuals. Snakes are released at the capture site generally within 10 minutes of capture.

We are always looking for volunteers to help us on our surveys.  If you would like to be involved in these surveys, please contact us. All volunteers will be trained in snake handling, survey techniques and data collection and will accompany experienced researchers.

Determining the range

There is a multi-year project underway to determine the extent of the range in Nova Scotia. Each year, a team of experienced researchers systematically searches potential habitats in an attempt to confirm if ribbonsnakes are present. Locating ribbonsnakes is often difficult and time consuming. The snakes are small and cryptic and they occur in habitats that are difficult to search (bogs, stream edges etc.) due to dense vegetation. Even in areas known to contain ribbonsnakes, it can often take several hours of searching to find just one.

A second problem is posed by the sheer numbers of wetland habitats in southwest Nova Scotia, most of which are not easily accessible. We cannot search them all, so we need to be able to narrow the search. To do this, we have launched a public campaign requesting that  people report any sightings of ribbonsnakes. We distribute educational pamphlets and make presentations to schools, community organizations and to other interested groups to get the message out. We are also collecting habitat data at each area that we survey to attempt to determine if there are any particular habitat features that can predict where the snakes occur.

Ribbonsnakes are very cryptic and difficult to find. Can you spot the snake in these pictures?

Click here to reveal the snake.

Genetics

Genetic research has proven valuable in our understanding of other species at risk, such as Blanding's turtles. Genetic analysis has shown that the Nova Scotia population of Blanding's turtles actually consists of three distinguishable populations that do not regularly interbreed, despite being geographically close. It has also established that  the Nova Scotia population as a whole varies from populations in the species' main range, elevating its significance as a potential evolutionary unit. Work on genetics of the Eastern ribbonsnake is just starting and we do not yet know if similar patterns exist in ribbonsnake populations. The work with genetics combined with the distribution work described above will help tell us if there is one single interbreeding population of ribbonsnakes in Nova Scotia or several, small isolated ones.

Emergence Cues

Researchers also plan to investigate the possible  factors causing these snakes to emerge from their overwintering sites in the spring.  In the laboratory setting, they will explore the effects of thermal gradients, water level rise, and biological clocks on spring emergence.