Population snakes forward with help of GPR technology

  • Published
  • By Nathan Smith
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  The threatened northern pine snake population in New Jersey is getting a boost, thanks to the new use of a technology that has been around for almost a century.

Air Force officials at Warren Grove Gunnery Range, N.J., have been collaborating with Temple and Drexel University researchers for more than 10 years to preserve the habitat of the snake, while simultaneously providing research and training opportunities for university students. The effort took a step forward last year when researchers decided to explore the use of ground-penetrating radar, or GPR, technology to map the winter hibernation habitats of the snake, which is listed as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Research like that being conducted at Warren Grove is important to complement protections already put in place by the Endangered Species Act, said Kevin Porteck, the Air Force natural resources subject matter expert at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center here.

"Military ranges often provide excellent habitat for wildlife, and with increasing development around these installations, military lands can become the last refuge for a species within a region," Porteck said. "If the population of a particular species on a military installation becomes imperiled and warrants protection by law, the result can be restrictions on the use of an Air Force range for training and testing activities."

Fortunately, the Air Force has been able to avoid significant land-use restrictions by applying ecosystem management principles to help mitigate the negative effects of mission activities and, in many cases, contribute to the recovery of the species, Porteck said.

The Technology
GPR provides high-resolution imagery several feet below the Earth's surface, and is traditionally used in fields such as archaeology, prospecting and underground mining projects. Researchers saw an opportunity to take advantage of the technology in preserving the northern pine snakes' habitat.

Dr. Ilya Buynevich, an assistant professor of Earth sciences at Temple University, worked with graduate students to conduct the GPR imaging research at Warren Grove, resulting in a mutually beneficial arrangement for the students and Air Force.

"It is essentially 'x-raying' through the ground using electromagnetic waves that help visualize structures like sediment layers, buried objects, animal burrows and many other underground anomalies," Buynevich said.

Since the electromagnetic waves travel at roughly the same speed as radio waves, there is no adverse effect on the northern pine snakes in the area being surveyed.

Dane Ward, a graduate student at Drexel University who participated in the GPR research, said the technology made their work easier.

"Each spring, researchers encircle these hibernacula, or hibernation habitats, and document individual snakes found in each. This effort is very important for the management of this population, but is time intensive and costly," Ward said. "We hope to utilize GPR to identify whether snakes are in hibernation sites in order to reduce the survey effort. If possible, in the future we hope to quantify the number of snakes in hibernacula to avoid corralling them."

Research has shown human activity and disturbance reduces the pine snakes' use of the hibernacula, reducing their abundance and forcing them to find new habitats instead of reusing the same hibernacula in successive years. The use of remote technology, such as GPR, helps researchers avoid disturbing the hibernacula, thus helping the species thrive.

Saving a Species
The snake's categorization as a threatened species means without proactive efforts like those at Warren Grove the species could likely disappear in the region, Ward said. The nearest colony of the species is in North Carolina.

"The northern pine snake, pituophis melanoleucus, is a threatened species in the state of New Jersey," Ward said. "This level of conservation protection suggests that, without proper management, this species could be lost from the state. Previously, pine snakes were found in western Virginia and Maryland, but these populations are now (erased)."

Because the population of northern pine snakes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is isolated from other populations, the species' vulnerability in the region is heightened since there is no natural immigration from surrounding populations.

The Way Ahead
The research has already paid dividends for his university, Buynevich said, demonstrating interdisciplinary collaboration and making the department more competitive in applying for other research funding, including one that focuses on crab burrows in beach sand.

The species and the Air Force will benefit as well, Porteck said.

"The research being conducted on the northern pine snake by the collaborative partners at Warren Grove Gunnery Range will be used to ensure essential habitats are protected from harm so that the species will thrive," Porteck said. "By sustaining ecosystems and biodiversity, the Air Force can also provide a landscape that can sustain military testing and training activities now and in the distant future."