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The impact of an extreme climatic event on adder (Vipera berus) demography in southern Sweden

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-12, 05:37 authored by Thomas MadsenThomas Madsen, Jon Loman, Dirk Bauwens, Bo Stille, Hakan Anderberg, Lewis Anderberg, Beata UjvariBeata Ujvari
Abstract Climate change has been shown to have significant negative effects on wildlife populations owing to both gradual shifts in mean climatic conditions and an increased frequency of extreme climatic events. Based on a long-term study spanning 40 years, we explore the demographic effect of the exceptionally hot and dry summer of 2018 on the demography of an isolated adder (Vipera berus) population in southern Sweden. In spring 2019, we observed a dramatic decline in adder relative body mass and a concomitant 50% reduction in population size. Our results strongly suggest that the negative impacts on adder demography were the result of a combination of low prey abundance and adder dehydration caused by the extreme climatic conditions during the previous summer. The study provides an example of the significant negative effects of ongoing climate change on vertebrate populations and emphasizes the importance of long-term studies to document the demographic effects of extreme climatic events.

History

Journal

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

Volume

138

Pagination

282-288

Location

Oxford, Eng.

ISSN

0024-4066

eISSN

1095-8312

Language

English

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

3

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)