Barrier Island Herpetofauna 
159 
common in the grassy areas bordering Sparrow Pond. We saw no T. 
sauritus and only one A. piscivorus around Sparrow Pond in 1979. 
Absence of T. sauritus may reflect in part the dearth of suitable habitat 
and prey, chiefly frogs. Scarcity of A. piscivorus is due in part to selective 
removal of this venomous species from the area. Several road-killed 
snakes were encountered during the recent study period; prior to the 
existence of paved roads and heavier traffic loads such instances were 
rare. As development proceeds, the incidence of road-kills will almost 
certainly increase, at least until population sizes are appreciably reduced. 
Residual turtle and alligator populations remain in Sparrow Pond, but 
population densities appear to be low. Drainage operations in the pond 
prior to its modification revealed the presence of 50 P. scripta (Tony 
Niemeyer, pers. comm.). Small alligators are still present, but larger ones 
are removed and translocated to ponds in undeveloped areas. 
At least two other ponds on Kiawah Island have been enlarged, deep- 
ened, cleared of emergent vegetation, and stocked with freshwater fish. 
Both ponds are on the otherwise undeveloped part of the island. Removal 
of cattails and other emergent plants from these ponds probably accounts 
in part for the apparent reduction in population size of H. cinerea. This 
species is often abundant in cattail marshes; its apparent scarcity on 
Capers Island may reflect the relative dearth of such habitat on that 
island. 
Considerations for Recreational Development of Barrier Islands 
The greatest potential human disruptions to the herpetofauna of Cap- 
ers Island and the undeveloped parts of Kiawah would occur as a result 
of major alteration of forests and freshwater ponds. Freshwater habitats 
support dense populations of many species. Changes in water level and 
salinity, and removal of vegetation and litter, will change the herpeto- 
faunal character of the areas. 
Drainage of shallow aquatic sites for mosquito control or other pur- 
poses would have a severe impact on reproductive efforts of frogs and 
toads. Most species of frogs reported from the islands have relatively 
short larval periods (90 days or less) and deposit their eggs in small, 
rain-filled depressions or in larger, often temporary ponds that lack pred- 
atory fishes. Only the mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, has been 
reported to occur naturally in strictly freshwater habitats on Kiawah 
Island, and even this species is absent from Capers. Creating permanent 
ponds may provide opportunities for establishment of frog species with 
longer larval periods and different breeding strategies; however, intro- 
duction of freshwater game fishes would create a serious predator impact 
on all anurans. Recreational development of ponds inhabited by P. 
scripta would probably not directly alter their survival, but population 
features such as rapid growth rates and large individuals might be 
