International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol.15, No.3, 101-110 http://ecoevopublisher.com/index.php/ijmec 106 5 Specific Case Analysis of Human Activities Affecting Snake Biodiversity 5.1 Impact of urbanization on snake species diversity Urbanization is the land use form with the highest intensity of human activities, and its impact on snake diversity is representative. In highly urbanized areas, snake habitats are replaced by hard surfaces and buildings, and species diversity usually decreases significantly. However, a few highly adaptable snake species can survive and reproduce in cities, forming a special structure of urban snake communities. Habitat fragmentation and isolation are prominent problems facing snakes in urban environments. Urban green spaces such as parks and wetlands have become "islands" for snakes to survive, and there is a lack of connection between snake groups. Taking the wetlands in Perth, Australia as an example, the western tiger snake is divided into different lake wetlands. Researchers used genetic analysis to find that the genetic diversity of tiger snake populations separated by roads and residential areas in the city is significantly lower than that of suburban populations connected to wetlands (Figure 2) (Lettoof et al., 2021). Figure 2 Map the studied populations of Notechis scutatus occidentalis and land-use of Perth, Western Australia (Adopted from Lettoof et al., 2021) Image caption: Red points represent individual Western tiger snakes, and yellow points represent Eastern tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus scutatus). Grey shading represents the current distribution extent of the species (light = Western, dark = Eastern; modified from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Adopted from Lettoof et al., 2021) Road traffic also causes direct harm to urban snakes. On roads around cities, the bodies of snakes such as colubrids and rat snakes that have been crushed to death are often seen. Human-snake conflicts also occur from time to time in cities. Snakes occasionally enter homes or campuses, causing residents to panic and call the police or kill them themselves. Although the urban environment is generally unfavorable to snakes, it is worth noting that some snakes have shown adaptation to and even utilization of cities. For example, American colubrids and cottonmouths prey on excess rodents and amphibians in urban park waters, which in turn provide a rich source of food (Bernarde et al., 2000; Zhu et al., 2025). 5.2 The dilemma of illegal trade in snakes and species protection The illegal trade in wild snakes is widespread around the world, including both the smuggling and sale of live snakes and the black market trading of snake skins, snake gallbladders and other products. This illegal trade poses a serious challenge to snake protection and is one of the outstanding problems in current biodiversity conservation. According to TRAFFIC statistics, law enforcement agencies in Southeast Asian countries seized 292 cases of snake smuggling between 2012 and 2021, and seized at least 17 589 live snakes, 76 476 snake skins and parts of various types. Illegal trade poses multiple dilemmas to the protection of snake species: 1) Over-capture leads to a sharp decline in species populations and even an increased risk of extinction. 2) Difficulties in law enforcement and cross-border characteristics complicate protection and supervision. Illegal trade in snakes is often carried out through covert channels, such as anonymous sales on online platforms and mixed exports with legal aquaculture products (Marshall et al., 2020). 3) Conflicts between profit-driven and community participation. In some
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