Project Title
Effects of human-made forest clearings on the movement behavior of a cryptic ambush predator (Crotalus horridus)
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Dominic L. DeSantis, Christine Mutiti
Abstract
Patterns of animal movement vary in response to the spatiotemporal distribution of fitness-determining resources in the environment. In this context, a common objective of research in wildlife ecology is to identify landscape features that are related to the occurrence, or absence, of these key resources, and to in turn explore how variation in resource distribution effects wildlife movement and space use. In the southeastern United States, the mechanical clearing of vegetation is a widely applied management technique that is primarily aimed at increasing available edge habitat for important game species. However, far less is known on the effects these prominent landscape features might have on smaller or more secretive wildlife taxa, such as many non-avian reptiles. Although historically overlooked in such studies, large-bodied snakes represent an ideal model for exploring these "hidden” effects of mechanical wildlife clearings on the movement behavior of predators. We are leveraging three years of continuous radio telemetry and accelerometry monitoring of movement behavior in Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) to evaluate associations between varying use of human-made forest clearings, and variation in home range sizes and activity patterns. Broadly, our aim is to guide habitat enhancements for C. horridus and other pit vipers of conservation concern.
Effects of human-made forest clearings on the movement behavior of a cryptic ambush predator (Crotalus horridus)
Patterns of animal movement vary in response to the spatiotemporal distribution of fitness-determining resources in the environment. In this context, a common objective of research in wildlife ecology is to identify landscape features that are related to the occurrence, or absence, of these key resources, and to in turn explore how variation in resource distribution effects wildlife movement and space use. In the southeastern United States, the mechanical clearing of vegetation is a widely applied management technique that is primarily aimed at increasing available edge habitat for important game species. However, far less is known on the effects these prominent landscape features might have on smaller or more secretive wildlife taxa, such as many non-avian reptiles. Although historically overlooked in such studies, large-bodied snakes represent an ideal model for exploring these "hidden” effects of mechanical wildlife clearings on the movement behavior of predators. We are leveraging three years of continuous radio telemetry and accelerometry monitoring of movement behavior in Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) to evaluate associations between varying use of human-made forest clearings, and variation in home range sizes and activity patterns. Broadly, our aim is to guide habitat enhancements for C. horridus and other pit vipers of conservation concern.