Download or read book Spatial Ecology of Two Congeneric Snakes Agkistrodon Piscivorus and Agkistrodon Contortrix in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina written by Joshua Scott Castleberry and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Comparative Ecology of Two Species of Semiaquatic Snakes in Southeastern North America written by Jeffrey D. Camper and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata fasciata) and the Eastern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) were the focal species in a long-term mark and recapture study in the upper coastal plain of South Carolina, USA. Recapture rates were low for both species. Female N. fasciata were significantly larger than males. Male A. piscivorus were larger than females but not significantly. Age structure and sex ratios were determined for these populations. Recapture latency was greater for A. piscivorus than for N. fasciata. There was little dietary niche overlap between these two species. Nerodia fasciata ingested significantly more fish headfirst and more amphibians tail first. Growth rates were also calculated for both species. Litter size, offspring size, relative clutch mass and parturition dates were determined for N. fasciata.

Download or read book Cottonmouth Agkistrodon Piscivorus Spatial Ecology written by Eric David Roth and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spatial Ecology of Sympatric Rattlesnakes in the South Carolina Coastal Plain written by Jayme Linn Waldron and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Ontogeny of Spatial Ecology and Habitat Use in a Population of Cottonmouths Agkistrodon Piscivorus in Southwest Missouri written by Alexander Joseph Muensch and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Juvenile snakes are usually excluded from spatial ecology and habitat use studies. However, there is evidence that ontogeny, along with sex and reproductive condition, may play a large role in spatial distribution within snake populations. I tracked eight juvenile cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) during the summer and fall of 2008 to determine how their home ranges, rates and magnitudes of movement, and microhabitat use compared to adults previously tracked at the same site. When gravid females were excluded from the analysis, there was a strong positive effect of body size on home range size of snakes. However, the location of home ranges appears to be driven by the spatial distribution of resources, which resulted in category-specific nonrandom habitat selection. Juveniles tended to remain close to the stream and make limited movements along the stream banks within the riparian corridor of the study area. Age, sex and reproductive status all appear to strongly influence snake home range size and location, as well as habitat use. A discriminant function analysis of habitat measurements revealed that juveniles used available habitats in a more nonrandom fashion than all other groups, indicating that they are more specialized in their resource needs. Further investigation into the relationship of specific habitat cues and different age classes of snakes is warranted in order to determine how physiological needs are met at various stages of their life history.

Download or read book Sexual Dimorphism and the Spatial and Reproductive Ecology of the Copperhead Snake Agkistrodon Contortrix written by Charles Francis Smith and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spatial Ecology and Habitat Selection of the Northern Cottonmouth Agkistrodon Piscivorus Within Constructed Wetland Complexes written by Zackary J. Delisle and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Habitat Use and Spatial Patterns of a Cottonmouth Snake Agkistrodon Piscivorus Leucostoma Population and Thermoregulation of Male Cottonmouth Snakes in Southwestern Missouri written by Evan J. Menzel and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adult male Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma were captured and implanted with radio transmitters and Thermochron® i-Buttons as part of a larger radio telemetry study on home range analysis, spatial patterns, habitat use and thermoregulation of cottonmouths in southwestern Missouri. There were significant differences in home range size between males, non-gravid females and gravid females in all home range area estimates, except core use area (50% Kernel home range area estimates), with males having the largest home ranges. A principal components analysis of snake locations revealed that snakes use the habitat in a non-random fashion at landscape, macrohabitat, and microhabitat scales. Snake population segments used habitat in distinctly different ways, to fulfill various key resource requirements. Male snakes were typically found relatively far from water in association with grassland habitats, apparently to exploit high densities of large rodent prey. All females were typically found in association with riparian woodland relatively close to water. However gravid females differed from non-gravid females in their use of habitat edges and gaps within the forest canopy to accommodate thermal needs during gestation. The thermal preference range (Tset) of four male snakes was determined to be 23.5 -- 29.5 °C with a mean temperature of 26.3 °C (± 0.253). The mean body temperature of field-active males was 22.54 °C (± 0.028). Thermal indices indicated that male cottonmouth snakes did not deviate much from thermoconformity.

Download or read book Systematics and Historical Biogeography of Agkistrodon Contortrix and Agkistrodon Piscivorus written by Timothy James Guiher and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many studies have revealed that lineages currently inhabiting formerly glaciated areas were pushed into southern glacial refugia and have expanded into their modern range since the last glacial maximum. There have been few studies that compare the effects of glacial cycles on lineage diversification, historical demography and migration rates in closely related species with overlapping ranges. In this study I compare phylogeographic structure, historical demography, approximate lineage age, potential distributions, and migration rates in two closely related and broadly co-occurring venomous snakes in eastern North America, the cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) and copperhead (A. contortrix) using multilocus coalescent approaches. It has recently been discovered that gene flow between closely related species with adjacent distributions may be common (Nosil 2008). However, the absence of gene flow is a primary assumption of many phylogeographic methods including species tree inference and Bayesian species delimitation. I provide a framework for examining species delimitation when gene flow between species is present and provide a taxonomic revision of A. contortrix and A. piscivorus. In addition, I explore whether hybrids between adjacent species inhabit unique environmental conditions not suitable to one or both species. Finally, I reveal that species diversification was likely a direct result of Pleistocene glacial cycles and that species with the closest proximity to formerly glaciated areas experienced population expansion following the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. A combination of population expansion out of refugia and niche expansion has resulted in hybridization between adjacent species where species distributions come into contact. It is not clear whether gene flow has persisted during speciation and subsequent interglacial periods or if it has only recently occurred following the last glacial maximum.

Download or read book The Effect of Reproductive Condition on the Thermal and Spatial Ecology of the Female Cottonmouth agkistrodon Piscivorus in Southwest Missouri written by Adam L. Crane and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Eastern Indigo Snake Recovery Plan written by Daniel W. Speake and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Case Study in Conservation Science written by Milan Jovan Mitrovich and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a three part study, we analyzed: (1) population-level response of the coachwhip snake, (Masticophis flagellum) and striped racer (M. lateralis) to fragmentation of scrub habitats in coastal southern California using site occupancy models and presence/apparent absence data; (2) space-use behavior of coachwhip snakes and racers in fragmented and continuous habitats of coastal southern California using data from radio-telemetry; and (3) phylogeography and population genetic variation throughout the range of both species with emphasis on coachwhip populations in southern California using mitochondrial DNA sequence and RFLP data. Part 1 revealed disproportionate loss of coachwhip populations from fragmented areas. Unlike the racer, the coachwhip tended to be absent from sites embedded in isolated landscapes, even at large spatial scales. The two species showed large differences in rates of local extinction and probability of detection, with coachwhip populations exhibiting variable rates of detection and greater likelihood of local extinction. Habitat composition influenced site occupancy. Coachwhip snakes preferred sites with open sage scrub and grassland. Racers preferred scrub dominated sites. In Part 2 coachwhip snakes exhibited great plasticity in spacing and movement patterns between sites, showing large differences in movement response to changes in local conditions and amount of available space. In sympatry, coachwhip snakes and racers showed large differences in home range size, rate of travel, and movement distance, with coachwhip snakes ranging more widely than racers. Differences in habitat use fit well with occupancy patterns. Coachwhip snakes utilized both scrub and grassland, and racers utilized largely only scrub. In Part 3 phylogenetic analyses recovered significant structure in both species, with seven well-supported and geographically coherent clades recovered from coachwhip populations sampled throughout the range of the species. High density sampling within southern California recovered four cryptic coachwhip lineages in contact and organized geographically by bioregion. Collectively, results suggest the greater vulnerability of the coachwhip to land-use change is related to differences in habitat use, movement, and rates of population turnover. Unless the few remaining large, contiguous landscapes of grassland and open scrubland are incorporated into regional conservation planning, long-term persistence of coachwhip lineages is unlikely in the future landscape of California.

Download or read book Spatial Ecology and Habitat Use by the Eastern Hognose Snake Heterodon Platirhinos written by Elizabeth Anna McDonald and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spatial Ecology of the Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus Horridus and Northern Pine Snake Pituophis Melanoleucus in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey written by Ronald M. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In New Jersey, italicCrotalus horridusitalic, a state-endangered species, and italicPituophis melanoleucusitalic, a state-threatened species, are vulnerable to extirpation due to habitat loss and direct human impacts. I used radio-telemetry to determine the spatial ecology of these two species at the Warren Grove Range (WGR). italicCrotalus horridusitalic had no significant differences in home range size, seasonal activity, core activity area, range length, distance traveled per day, or seasonal differences in distance traveled per day between male and female snakes. They utilized hardwood swamp habitat the greatest proportion of use as compared to the six other habitat types identified at WGR. italicPituophis melanoleucusitalic had no significant differences in home range size, core activity area, range length, or distance traveled per day, between sexes or between locations in or outside of the target zone. italicPituophis melanoleucusitalic tracked in 2005 and 2006 traveled larger total distance, larger distance per day, and had larger home range compared to snakes in 2003 and 2004. There were no significant differences in maximum distance dispersed or location of hibernacula within home range by year or sex for italicP. melanoleucusitalic, which moved in all potential directions away from their hibernaculum, up to 2764.1 m away. A circular buffer around a hibernation site, based on dispersal distances, encompasses 2388 ha of land need to protect habitat and resources for the subpopulations of each hibernaculum. A minimum of 2388 ha, should be protected around hibernacula to support the current population of italicP. melanoleucusitalic. The WGR is an important location for snakes because the landscape is protected, relatively inaccessible, and free of negative impacts associated with urban development, agriculture, and high-use paved roadways. These data on the spatial ecology of these two snakes are important as baselines for evaluating threats to these snakes and can aid in developing mitigation and conservation strategies in light of the continued development in the Pine Barrens.

Download or read book Giant Gartersnake Spatial Ecology in Agricultural and Constructed Wetlands written by Patricia M. Valcarcel and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spatial ecology of a species is a vital component of informed management and restoration plans, yet little is known about how animals use restored or constructed habitat. We assessed home ranges, core areas, and habitat selection of the federally threatened Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) using rice agricultural habitat and recently constructed wetlands used as conservation banks. Space use patterns were estimated from radio tracking 19 unique adult female snakes over 2 years at a site that is the center of conservation efforts for the species. Home ranges (95% kernel density contour) and core areas (50% kernel density contour) were estimated for size, configuration, and overlap of the home range utilization distributions. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to assess habitat influences on microhabitat use. Contrary to expectations, but consistent across years, we found home ranges in the agricultural habitat were on average 80% smaller and had less variation among individuals than those in the constructed wetlands. Snakes in agricultural habitat also had greater and more uniform home range overlap as indicated by the utilization distribution overlap index. We combined all of the snakes to analyze microhabitat selection and used a matched location-random point design. Vegetation patch edges were used more often than interior locations in patches greater than six meters in diameter. This indicates that habitat complexity is an important consideration for habitat conservation plans. We were unable to detect differences in habitat use based upon vegetation composition at a small spatial scale. Temperature also influences reptile habitat selection, and a thermal description of the three macrohabitats (terrestrial vegetation, emergent vegetation, and open water) at our site showed extreme afternoon temperatures limit the use of terrestrial surface habitat by the Giant Gartersnake. The restricted home ranges observed in the snakes in agriculture suggest we need further investigation into dispersal movements and habitat connectivity to better inform regional conservation planning. Recovery efforts for the Giant Gartersnake, including construction and management of new wetlands, will benefit from greater knowledge of their space use patterns described by our research.

Download or read book The Spatial Ecology of Eastern Hognose Snakes Heterodon Platirhinos written by Laura E. Robson and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spatial Ecology of True Sea Snakes Hydrophiinae in Coastal Waters of North Queensland written by Vinay Udyawer and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: