European Adder (Vipera berus) by Matej Dom
A major focus here at F/W is improving our general skills and making sure that we are continuously acquainted with real research data. In Applied Populations Ecology one of our major assignments included a research report in the form of a scientific article on melanism in the european adder (V. berus). This encompassed everything from getting up to date on research on melanism and dorsal coloration in snakes to analyzing our own data and discussing what the data might suggest!
For example, melanism may provide a thermoregulatory advantage to adult female snakes at high altitude (or latitude)! However, the loss of a cryptic coloration or one which signals that it is a venomous predator may also increase the risk of predation..