Preliminary Study of Thread Bobbin in Tracking Snakes

Abstract

蛇類活動的研究容易受限於方法的採用。便宜便利的方法是值得研究人員考慮的。本研究在台北市立動物園戶外圈養場中嘗試以線團法追蹤記錄蛇類的活動，以數量較多的雄性赤尾青竹絲做為研究對象來檢驗線團法的適用性。結果使用線團法和直接觀察的雄性赤尾青竹絲，其活動量並無顯著差異 (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, p=0.139, n=9)，初步顯示線團法可用於蛇類追蹤觀察。此外線團法中所測量的線長可作為其活動距離的便利指標。

The study of movement in snake is frequently restricted by the limitation of the method. A good option for the researcher to use in his study is a convenient and low cost device. In this preliminary study, we selected male Chinese green tree vipers as study animals and examined the possibility of thread bobbin in tracking snakes in Taipei City Zoo. We found there was no significant difference between the activities of snakes that had been tracked by thread bobbin and by direct observation (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, Z=-1.481, p=0.139, n=9). This suggested that thread bobbin can be used in tracking snakes, and the length of thread can be used to estimate the distance of movement of the snake.