Thermal ecology of the smooth snake, Coronella austriaca Laurenti, during spring.

Thermo sensitive transmitters were used in a study on free-ranging smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca). Except on cold cloudy days, this snake shows a daily tripartite pattern of body temperatures. The pattern consists of a quick rise in body temperature in the morning, a subsequent stable phase during which body temperatures vary between 29 and 33° C, and finally a drop of body temperatures in the evening. The, consistency of the stable phase over the study period indicates that this range represents the thermal preferendum of this species. During the succesive study months a time shift in daily activity pattern was observed.

A quantitative approach to the mortality resulting from traffic in a population of Bufo bufo L.

During the breeding migration of Bufo bufo in 1971 the number of females was counted, killed by traffic on an asphalt road with about 10 cars/hour. By counting egg-strings the total number of females was estimated too. By comparing both data it appeared that 30% of the females passing the road were run over. For the males a similar percentage is expected.