Ilha da Queimada Grande

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Ilha da Queimada Grande

Nickname: Snake Island

Aerial view of Ilha da Queimada Grande

 Ilha da Queimada Grande

Location of Ilha da Queimada Grande in Brazil

Geography

Location Atlantic Ocean

24°29′10″S 46°40′30″WCoordinates:  24°29′
Coordinates
10″S 46°40′30″W

Area 430,000 m2 (4,600,000 sq ft)

Highest elevation 206 m (676 ft)

Administration

Brazil

State State of São Paulo

Municipality Itanhaém

Administered by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity

Conservation (ICMBio)

Demographics

Population 0

Ilha da Queimada Grande, also known as Snake Island, is an island off the coast of
Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean. It is administered as part of the municipality of Itanhaém in
 the State of São Paulo. The island is small in size, only 43 hectares (106 acres), and
has a temperate climate. The island's terrain varies considerably, ranging from bare
rock to rainforest.
The island is the only home of the critically endangered, venomous Bothrops
insularis (golden lancehead pit viper), which has a diet of birds. The snakes became
trapped on the island when rising sea levels covered up the land that connected it to the
mainland. The ensuing selection pressure allowed the snakes to adapt to their new
environment, increasing rapidly in population and rendering the island dangerous to
public visitation.
Queimada Grande is closed to the public in order to protect both people and the snake
population; access is only available to the Brazilian Navy and selected researchers
vetted by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, the Brazilian federal
conservation unit.[1][2][3]

Contents

 1Geography
 2History
 3Endangerment
 4See also
 5References
 6External links

Geography[edit]
Located approximately 33 kilometres (21 mi) off the coast of the state of São Paulo,
Brazil, the island is approximately 430,000 square metres (110 acres) in area. The
island ranges in elevation from sea level to 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. The
island has a temperate climate that is similar to its neighbouring island Nimer. 0.25
square kilometres (62 acres) of the island is covered by rain forest; the remaining areas
consist of barren rocks and open grassland. Queimada Grande ranges from an average
of 18.38 °C (65.08 °F) in August to 27.28 °C (81.10 °F) in March, and rainfall ranges
from 0.2 millimetres (0.0079 in) per month in July to 135.2 millimetres (5.32 in) in
December.[1][4]

History[edit]
Ilha da Queimada Grande has a variety of vegetation. The island is partly covered in
rainforest and partly bare rock and grassy cleared areas, a result of deforestation. The
deforestation is the origin of the island's name: the term "Queimada", in Portuguese,
means “burnt” because when locals attempted to clear land for a banana plantation on
the island, they had to clear rain forest using this technique. A lighthouse was
constructed in 1909 to steer ships away from the island. The last human inhabitants left
the island when the lighthouse was automated. [5][6][7]
The island and the Ilha Queimada Pequena to the west are protected by the 33
hectares (82 acres) Ilhas Queimada Pequena e Queimada Grande Area of Relevant
Ecological Interest, created in 1985.[8] The Brazilian Navy has closed the island to the
public[9] and the only people who are allowed on the island are research teams who
receive waivers to collect data.

Endangerment[edit]
Because there are so many snakes on one island, by some estimates one snake to
every square meter (10.8 square feet) of the island, there is competition for resources.
Despite a population of 41 recorded bird species on Queimada Grande, the golden
lancehead relies on only two: the Troglodytes musculus (the southern house wren),
which is usually able to avoid the golden lancehead as a predator, and the Chilean
elaenia (a species of flycatcher), which feeds on vegetation in the same area as the
snake.
The island was thought to have a population of about 430,000 snakes, but recent
estimates are much lower. The first systematic study of the population of the golden
lancehead found the population to be 2,000 to 4,000, concentrated almost entirely in the
rainforest area of the island.[10][11] This might have happened because there was a limited
amount of resources and the population became level, but in 2015 an estimate by
a herpetologist on a Discovery Channel documentary stated that the population remains
at 2,000 to 4,000 golden lanceheads.[5] The Bothrops insularis also may be at risk from
inbreeding, effects of which are evident in the population.
Because of the overall low population of the golden lancehead, the snake was labelled
critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It also was placed
on the list of Brazil's endangered animals. The island is also home to a smaller
population of Dipsas albifrons, a non-venomous snake species.[1][11]