Snake species in the southeastern United States face serious decline or even extinction due to high levels of fungal, parasitic and bacterial infections, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Georgia (UGA) found that levels of pathogens present in snakes across Florida, South Carolina and Georgia were far higher than previously thought. This could leave several species threatened, and some, such as the pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), facing extinction.
“A snake can carry a pathogen and still appear completely healthy,” explained Corinna Hazelrig, corresponding author of the study, “What matters is understanding what pushes infection into something deadly.”
During the four-year study, the research team analysed swab samples from 509 snakes across 29 different species, testing for seven different pathogens, one of which, Ophidiomyces ophidiicola is known to be the cause of the highly contagious Snake Fungal Disease. It was this fungal infection that was found to be prevalent among pygmy rattlesnakes, leaving animals emaciated and prone to starvation or secondary infection.
Raillietiella orientalis, a lungworm likely introduced via a feral population of Burmese python (Python bivittatus), was also found to be widespread among snakes in Florida. The Burmese python has evolved to cope with the presence of the lungworm parasite, but native species do not have any natural resistance, and their immune systems may already be weakened by the presence of other infections.
More than 40% of the snakes tested were found to be carrying multiple pathogens, with salmonella detected in more than half.
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“Life and death for wildlife like snakes is not so simple,” commented senior author Nicole Nemeth, head of research and diagnostics at the UGA’s Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study service. “Any group or regional population of snakes is likely to be already under some level of stress, so they are primed for that fungus or bacteria to take advantage of them and become a full-blown infection.”
The study, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science and funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, also emphasises the value of snakes within a functioning ecology.
“We often fear what we do not understand,” added Hazelrig. “Rattlesnakes are dangerous, as are many wild animals, but it is critical for the public to be educated on their value in our ecosystems and to learn how to safely coexist. Rattlesnakes deserve to live peacefully and unharmed as any animal does.”
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