ELUCIDATING THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF SNAKES: A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE

Abstract

Snakes are a diverse and ecologically critical group of reptiles that performs a vast role in retaining the shape and function of surroundings in addition to maintaining the structure. Forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, freshwater and marine ecosystem are occupied by the snakes as a habitat. They play a role both as a predator and prey, they are the major components of food webs, provide and transfer energy across different trophic levels. Snakes help maintain diversity overcoming the prey population, so they supporting the ecosystem stability. Snakes play an important role as ecological indicators because they are very sensitive to changes in their environment. Factors such as habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change can strongly affect their populations. Due to this sensitivity, the presence or absence of snakes in an ecosystem can help scientists understand the health and stability of that environment. Moreover snakes take part in nutrient cycling by predation, excretion and decomposition processes and these processes contribute to soil fertility, and ecosystem productivity. Particularly in agriculture, snakes acts as a pest controller to kill and eat pests as a food as well as in medicinal field, snake venom is used to produce anti venoms and pharmacy products are produced from the snake venom. Trading of snakes skin is illegal but they used for making bags, jackets and further products. Despite their importance, snakes population is threatened and extinct by habitat fragmentation, destruction, urban development, road making, illegal wildlife trade, climate change and agricultural expansion. Snake human conflict is the major cause of species threatened. This review examines the major threats facing by snakes and Habitat restoration and protection, reforestation, public awareness, scientific research, enforcement of wildlife laws are the strategies for conserving the snakes.