Journal ArticleDOI
Habitat Utilization, Diet and Movements of a Temperate Arboreal Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
TLDR
Certain niche characteristics were quantified for Opheodrys aestivus in a forest habitat surrounding a central Arkansas lake, and preferred microhabitat for this diurnal, arboreal, forest edge species was dense, highly-branched vegetation.Abstract:
Certain niche characteristics were quantified for Opheodrys aestivus in a forest habitat surrounding a central Arkansas lake. Preferred microhabitat for this diurnal, arboreal, forest edge species was dense, highly-branched vegetation. There was no preference for plant taxon, but selection of perch height, perch diameter, perch angle and position on branch was restricted. Diel variation in some perch parameters was seen. Intraspecific class differences (sex, snout-vent length) were slight. More than 85% of the diet consisted of caterpillars, spiders, grasshoppers and crickets, and odonates. These prey were most abundant at the forest edge and were consumed by snakes in disproportion to the abundance of prey in the habitat. Distances between recaptures and size of activity range were markedly restricted compared to other snakes.read more
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Biological Criteria for Buffer Zones around Wetlands and Riparian Habitats for Amphibians and Reptiles
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided an estimate of the biologically relevant size of core habitats for amphibians and reptiles surrounding wetlands for the purpose of defining core habitats used by local breeding populations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Intersexual Dietary Divergence and the Evolution of Sexual Dimorphism in Snakes
TL;DR: It is inferred that the sexes originally diverged in body sizes or ecology because of differences in reproductive biology, with the subsequent evolution of sexual dimorphism in feeding structures through independent adaptations to foraging in each sex.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Tabular Survey of Data on Movements and Home Ranges of Snakes
TL;DR: A tabulation of techniques used to study movements of snakes, methods used to calculate home ranges, and strengths and weaknesses of the various methods is presented in the hope that it will provide the beginning of a comparative data base, point out the variability of the kinds of information available for a wide spectrum of populations, and indicate where major gaps exist.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecology of a Low-energy Specialist: Food Habits and Reproductive Biology of the Arafura Filesnake (Acrochordidae)
TL;DR: Field studies of Acrochordus arafurae in the Alligator Rivers Region of tropical Australia show that these aquatic snakes feed and reproduce less frequently than do most other snake species studied previously, suggesting a low frequency of reproduction in individual females.
Journal ArticleDOI
Spatial Ecology and Multi-Scale Habitat Selection by a Threatened Rattlesnake: The Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used radio telemetry and geographic information systems (GIS) to investigate the movement patterns, home ranges, and habitat selection of Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Comparative Ecology of Twelve Species of Nocturnal Lizards (Gekkonidae) in the Western Australian Desert
Eric R. Pianka,Helen D. Pianka +1 more
TL;DR: Observations on active geckos during their natural period of nocturnal activity allow comparison of many aspects of the ecologies of 12 species, including habitat and microhabitat requirements, diets, daily and seasonal patterns of activity, body temperature relationships, reproduction, predation and broken tail frequencies.