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Dispersal of Snakes from a Hibernaculum in Northerwestern Utah
Author(s) -
Hirth Harold F.,
Pendleton Robert C.,
King Arthur C.,
Downard Thomas R.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934862
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , range (aeronautics) , ecology , geography , biology , zoology , population , demography , materials science , sociology , composite material
A total of 196 snakes (64 Mormon racers, Coluber constrictor mormon; 51 Great Basin rattlesnakes, Crotalus viridis lutosus; 81 striped whipsnakes, Masticophis t. taeniatus) were tagged with Ta 1 8 2 after emergence from a communal hibernaculum in the spring. Using gamma scintillometers, 73% of the Mormon racers, 56% of the rattlesnakes, and 61% of the whipsnakes were recovered at least once during the summer. Recaptures provided information on the dispersal patterns of the three populations as well as the extent of individual movements. Mormon racers not only remained closer to the den than rattlesnakes and whipsnakes, but over a period of several months they moved about less than the two larger species. Whipsnakes dispersed the greatest distance. Recaptures of this species were made at distances of 1.5, 3.2, and 3.6 km from the den. The majority of each species recaptured in the summer were found in one or in two quadrants around the den. Except during periods of ecydsis most individual movements on the summer range were unpredictable. Daily movements and behavior of a male and female rattlesnake are described in detail. Mormon racers were found underground as often as on the surface. Almost equal numbers of whipsnakes were sighted or captured in shrubs as on the surface. Most rattlesnakes occupied epigean niches in the summer. Cloacal temperatures of between 8° and 13.6°C were close to the ecological minima; rattlesnakes were the most cold—hardy, whipsnakes the least. The concept of "total range" most accurately describes movements of the three species. Whipsnakes have the largest "total range" and Mormon racers the smallest.