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Teffo TR, Katona K, Babocsay G, Sós E, Halpern B. Home Range of the Caspian Whipsnake Dolichophis caspius (Gmelin, 1789) in a Threatened Peri-Urban Population. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13030447. [PMID: 36766335 PMCID: PMC9913663 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Semi-natural environments within cities can provide habitats for vulnerable reptile species. Better understanding of their habitat use and home range sizes is important for their conservation. We investigated the spatial ecology of Caspian whipsnakes (Dolicophis caspius) in a peri-urban habitat in Budapest, Hungary. We used radiotelemetry to track five adult snakes and analyzed their microhabitat preferences, home range sizes and daily movements. The Caspian whipsnakes intensively utilized areas covered with woody vegetation, with a high density of hibernacula. The tracked snakes used an area of 40.15 ha during the activity period from spring to autumn, but for the winter, they withdrew to a central area of 1.75 ha, abundant in hibernacula. During the activity period the individual home range sizes varied between 6.1 and 15.5 ha, estimated using the minimum convex polygon (MCP); however, for the entire datasets of the individuals, the adaptive kernel method gave the highest mean (13.8 ha), while the LoCoH-R yielded the smallest home ranges (5.19 ha). We found that the average daily displacement for the different individuals ranged between 12.6 and 36.6 m during their main activity season. In the study area, the whipsnakes currently have enough space for foraging, but the restricted spatial distribution of hibernacula, which is mainly available in the central dry rocky forest and partly in the shrubby areas, can limit the extent of the suitable habitat. Human activities and anthropogenic disturbances, especially around hibernacula, may exert pressure on this peri-urban snake population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thabang Rainett Teffo
- Department of Wildlife Biology and Management, Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly u. 1., H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
- Correspondence: (T.R.T.); (K.K.)
| | - Krisztián Katona
- Department of Wildlife Biology and Management, Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly u. 1., H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
- Correspondence: (T.R.T.); (K.K.)
| | - Gergely Babocsay
- MME Birdlife Hungary, Költő utca 21., H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
- Mátra Museum of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Kossuth Lajos utca 40., H-3200 Gyöngyös, Hungary
| | - Endre Sós
- Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, Állatkerti krt. 6-12., H-1146 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bálint Halpern
- MME Birdlife Hungary, Költő utca 21., H-1121 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, Doctoral School of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELKH-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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Marshall BM, Crane M, Silva I, Strine CT, Jones MD, Hodges CW, Suwanwaree P, Artchawakom T, Waengsothorn S, Goode M. No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2020; 8:33. [PMID: 32774861 PMCID: PMC7397683 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-00219-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studying animal movement provides insights into how animals react to land-use changes. As agriculture expands, we can use animal movement to examine how animals change their behaviour in response. Recent reviews show a tendency for mammalian species to reduce movements in response to increased human landscape modification, but reptile movements have not been as extensively studied. METHODS We examined movements of a large reptilian predator, the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), in Northeast Thailand. We used a consistent regime of radio telemetry tracking to document movements across protected forest and adjacent agricultural areas. Using dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Model derived motion variance, Integrated Step-Selection Functions, and metrics of site reuse, we examined how King Cobra movements changed in agricultural areas. RESULTS Motion variance values indicated that King Cobra movements increased in forested areas and tended to decrease in agricultural areas. Our Integrated Step-Selection Functions revealed that when moving in agricultural areas King Cobras restricted their movements to remain within vegetated semi-natural areas, often located along the banks of irrigation canals. Site reuse metrics of residency time and number of revisits appeared unaffected by distance to landscape features (forests, semi-natural areas, settlements, water bodies, and roads). Neither motion variance nor reuse metrics were consistently affected by the presence of threatening landscape features (e.g. roads, human settlements), suggesting that King Cobras will remain in close proximity to threats, provided habitat patches are available. CONCLUSIONS Although King Cobras displayed individual heterogeneity in their response to agricultural landscapes, the overall trend suggested reduced movements when faced with fragmented habitat patches embedded in an otherwise inhospitable land-use matrix. Movement reductions are consistent with findings for mammals and forest specialist species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matt Crane
- King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Inês Silva
- King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Matt Goode
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
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Carrasco-Harris MF, Bowman D, Reichling S, Cole JA. Spatial ecology of copperhead snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix) in response to urban park trails. JOURNAL OF URBAN ECOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jue/juaa007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Urban forests and parks are important for recreation and may serve as a natural corridor for commuters. The consequences of human-mediated disturbance in natural areas are documented for avian and mammalian species. Less is known about the consequences of human disturbance on reptile species, specifically snakes, residing in natural refuges within the urban matrix. Thus, we examined the spatial activity of copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) in regard to pedestrian trails within an urban forest. We used radio telemetry to track snakes during the active season and estimated distances moved in between relocations, distances to the nearest trail and home range size for individuals. We found sex and season, but not distance to the nearest trail, affected the distance snakes moved. In addition, we observed a weak, positive relationship between home range size and average distance to the trail. Sex, season and body condition did not explain snake distance to the trail, but individual patterns were variable for snakes compared to random locations generated from snake relocations. Our study indicates copperheads may be tolerant of low-level human disturbances found in an urban forest. Further work should be done to quantify levels of disturbance, such as trail use, and compare the behavior of reptiles across urban park types and locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malle F Carrasco-Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, 239 Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Avenue, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
| | - Dale Bowman
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Memphis, 373 Dunn Hall, 3725 Norriswood Ave, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
| | | | - Judith A Cole
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, 239 Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Avenue, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
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Maida JR, Bishop CA, Larsen KW. Migration and disturbance: impact of fencing and development on Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) spring movements in British Columbia. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Due to increasing anthropogenic pressures, including land-use transformation globally, the natural process of animal migration is undergoing alterations across many taxa. Small-scale migrants provide useful systems at workable scales for investigating the influence of disturbance and landscape barriers on natural movement patterns and migrations. The Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus Holbrook, 1840) in British Columbia, Canada, is a small, migrant predator that undertakes seasonal spring movements from its communal hibernaculum to summer hunting and mating grounds and reverses its movements in autumn. From 2011 to 2016, we examined changes to spring migration movements in 27 male Western Rattlesnakes encountering both mitigative fencing barriers and disturbed habitats. Individuals moving through disturbed habitats or intercepted by mitigative fencing demonstrated shorter migration distances and reduced spring path sinuosity compared with individuals migrating in undisturbed habitats. Specifically, individuals encountering a fence during spring movements completed shorter total spring migration path lengths and occupied smaller home ranges over the course of the entire active season. Total spring migration distance also was strongly associated with the distance that individuals traveled until they first encountered human disturbance. This study contributes significantly to our knowledge of how fencing barriers may impact normal behavioural patterns in smaller vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R. Maida
- Environmental Science Program, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
| | - Christine A. Bishop
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Wildlife Research Division, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, BC V4K 3N2, Canada
| | - Karl W. Larsen
- Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
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Lomas E, Maida JR, Bishop CA, Larsen KW. Movement Ecology of Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus o. oreganus) in Response to Disturbance. HERPETOLOGICA 2019. [DOI: 10.1655/d-17-00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily Lomas
- Environmental Science Program, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, British Columbia V2C 0C8, Canada
| | - Jared R. Maida
- Environmental Science Program, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, British Columbia V2C 0C8, Canada
| | - Christine A. Bishop
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Wildlife Research Division, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, British Columbia V4K 3N2, Canada
| | - Karl W. Larsen
- Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, British Columbia V2C 0C8, Canada
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