Snake Population Study of the J. H. Barrow Field Station

We survey the snakes of the J. H. Barrow Field Station, Hiram Township, Portage County, Ohio. We use coverboards as a survey method. Each coverboard array consists of 10, 1 by 1 m pieces of exterior grade plywood (starting in 2000) and 5 sheets of corrugated steel (starting in 2003). We presently have five arrays set out in old field sites (intially two arrays set out in forested areas yielded no snakes). At intervals throughout the warmer months we examine each of the arrays. At each survey we capture all snakes by hand, determine species, measure the snout-vent length, assess condition (e.g. gravid, shed phase) and mark the larger individuals using PIT tags (AVID).