Human development and disturbances can be determinants of population viability of some vertebrates in human-impacted ecosystems. The effects on the behavior and population dynamics of reptiles are not well-studied in urban environments. This paper examines the importance of pine forest clearings, openings, and paleodunes for nesting pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in the New Jersey Pinelands, and the risk to nesting females and offspring from off-road vehicles (ORV). In this ms we 1) develop a rating scale for ORV activity that can be modified for evaluating risk to other vertebrates, 2) compare general habitat features of nesting areas used in the early 1980s with those used in 2020, and 3) examine the fate of nesting areas used in the 1980s and the intensity of ORV use in both time periods. In 2020, nests were located at only 2 of the 10 nesting areas used in 1983 (20%), and only one of the 10 was a paleodune. In comparison, in 2020, 9 of 13 new nesting areas were on paleodunes (69%). In 1983, ORV activity on nesting areas ranged from very low to medium. In the intervening years development and ORV activity increased markedly, and snakes abandoned most areas by 2020. ORV activity in those sites still utilized for nesting increased to high and very high. In 2020, ORV activity ranged from very low (7%) to very high (19%) of the 42 nests. With increasing urban development, nesting pine snakes are using mainly paleodunes deep in the forest, and are exposed to high or very high ORV activity (43%), suggesting concern for viable snake populations in the wake of continued human activity and ORV use.

人类发展和干扰可能是受人类影响的生态系统中某些脊椎动物种群生存能力的决定因素。在城市环境中，对爬行动物行为和种群动态的影响尚未得到充分研究。本文研究了松林空地、开口和古丘对筑巢松蛇 ( Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus ) 的重要性) 在新泽西松林，以及通过越野车 (ORV) 筑巢雌性和后代的风险。在这本书中，我们 1) 制定了 ORV 活动的评级量表，可以修改该量表以评估对其他脊椎动物的风险，2) 将 1980 年代早期使用的筑巢区的一般栖息地特征与 2020 年使用的栖息地特征进行比较，以及 3) 检查命运1980 年代使用的筑巢区域的数量以及两个时期 ORV 使用的强度。2020 年，巢穴位于 1983 年使用的 10 个筑巢区中的 2 个（20%），10 个中只有一个是古丘。相比之下，2020 年 13 个新筑巢区中有 9 个位于古丘上（69%）。1983 年，筑巢区域的 ORV 活动范围从非常低到中等。在此期间的发展和 ORV 活动显着增加，到 2020 年，蛇已经放弃了大部分地区。仍然用于嵌套的那些站点中的 ORV 活动增加到高和非常高。2020 年，在 42 个鸟巢中，ORV 活动从非常低 (7%) 到非常高 (19%) 不等。随着城市发展的不断加快，筑巢松蛇主要利用森林深处的古树​​，并暴露于高或非常高的 ORV 活动 (43%)，这表明随着人类活动和 ORV 的持续使用，对活蛇种群的关注。