Balancing the dumbbell: Summer habitats need protection in addition to winter dens for northern snake communities
| Autor: | Dennilyn L. Parker, Ray G. Poulin, Laura E. Gardiner, Jessica A. Martino, Christopher M. Somers |
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| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
Coluber constrictor
geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology biology Pituophis Home range Prairie dog biology.organism_classification Prairie rattlesnake Geography Habitat biology.animal General Earth and Planetary Sciences Bullsnake Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation General Environmental Science Riparian zone |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Wildlife Management. 77:975-982 |
| ISSN: | 0022-541X |
| Popis: | The grasslands of southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada are home to several snake species of conservation concern at the northern extreme of their geographic range. To aid conservation assessment and management planning for these snakes, we used radio-telemetry, a geographic information system, and multivariate modeling to identify and compare macrohabitat selection by eastern yellow-bellied racers (n = 33; Coluber constrictor flaviventris), bullsnakes (n = 16; Pituophis catenifer sayi), and prairie rattlesnakes (n = 23; Crotalus viridis). All 3 species shared communal hibernacula in the inactive winter season, but dispersed into different macrohabitats across the landscape during the spring and summer. Their home ranges varied in size by species and were dumbbell-shaped with activity centers near hibernacula and in well-defined summer grounds; activity centers were connected by narrow movement corridors. Racers strongly selected for riparian areas, bullsnakes selected for valley grassland habitats, and rattlesnakes selected for areas associated with prairie dog colonies. Some rattlesnakes traveled great distances (over 11 km) from the dens compared to the other species (bullsnake max. = 4 km; racer max. = 5 km), which may be a result of their selected macrohabitat being more patchily distributed in the landscape. Our results indicate that management plans for these snakes must consider the den area, corridors, and separate summering grounds, as well as differences in home range size and movement patterns for each species. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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