Aggregations of Sharptail Snakes (Contia tenuis) on the East Slope of the Cascade Range in Washington State

Leonard, William P.; Darda, David M.; McAllister, Kelly

doi:10.2307/3536620

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In addition, the presence of very small individuals at one of the sites suggested that egg-laying occurred in the immediate vicinity. At a Washington state site, Leonard et al (1996) similarly documented two presumed hibernation and egg-laying aggregations of Common Sharp-tailed Snakes on rocky substrates. Alternative explanations for snake aggregations include shortage of suitable cover, very favourable conditions, social attraction, or even chance, a list of functions Gregory (2004) suggested for aggregations of single and multiple species of snakes under rocks in Ontario.…”

Section: Capture Success and Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution and abundance of Common Sharp-tailed Snakes (Contia tenuis) on Observatory Hill, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Ovaska,

Engelstoft,

Sopuck

et al. 2021

JNAH

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Similar to many small, secretive snakes, the natural history and population biology of Sharp-tailed Snakes are poorly known. Information on habitat use and patterns of abundance are particularly important for management and recovery of this species listed as endangered in Canada. We surveyed for snakes from October 2010 to March 2019 using a microhabitat-based array of 162 artificial cover-object stations. The surveys (236 array checks) resulted in 177 detections of Sharp-tailed Snakes, representing 106 individuals identified through pattern mapping. Body size (snout-vent length) of the snakes ranged from 82 mm to 261 mm, and most (65.1%) were adults >180 mm. The dispersion of snakes among sampling stations was aggregated over time with 42 stations used by one to 15 individuals over the course of the study, including three “hot spots” used by over ten individuals; these sites represented hibernation and possibly also egg-laying sites. Most detections were on the warmer west and south slopes of the hill and were correlated with the presence of talus but not with other habitat attributes examined. The population sampled by the array was estimated to consist of a mean of 128 snakes (6.04/ha) in 2011 and 80 (3.80/ha) in 2018 with mean annual survival rate of 52.9%. We suggest focusing survey efforts on stable talus patches with south- and west-facing aspects both to locate the species at new sites and to identify important habitats at known sites.

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Section: Capture Success and Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution and abundance of Common Sharp-tailed Snakes (Contia tenuis) on Observatory Hill, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Ovaska,

Engelstoft,

Sopuck

et al. 2021

JNAH

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“…Because of the low numbers of snakes found in Canada and few known sites, the snake was considered an endangered species by COSEWIC in 1999(COSEWIC 2002. Although formal study of Sharptailed Snakes has been limited, recent studies done in British Columbia and adjacent Washington cover aspects of their ecology such as defensive behaviour Leonard and Stebbins 1999), aggregative behaviour (Leonard et al 1996), movements , habitat , and cover use (Engelstoft and Ovaska 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Rumsfeld Paradigm: Knowns and Unknowns in Characterizing Habitats Used by the Endangered Sharp-tailed Snake, <em>Contia tenuis</em>, in Southwestern British Columbia

Wilkinson

Gregory

Engelstoft³

et al. 2007

Can Field Nat

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The Sharp-tailed Snake, Contia tenuis, has a small and highly fragmented range in British Columbia, where it is considered endangered. Known sites are few in number and generally small in spatial extent; numbers of snakes apparently are correspondingly low. Furthermore, most known sites for the species are on private lands in areas that are fairly heavily developed or being developed. Thus, the species is under serious threat of habitat alteration or loss. Although land stewardship has been a valuable conservation tool in this case, we also need to identify the key habitat requirements of Sharp-tailed Snakes to identify potential new sites, modify former or potential ones, or even create new ones. In this study, we compared sites known to harbour Sharp-tailed Snakes with those that seemed subjectively similar and therefore potentially suitable. We also compared these known and potential sites with randomly chosen nearby locations. Variability of most measured features was high, both within and among site/location categories. Nonetheless, we found significant differences between known and potential sites and between those locations and random ones. Overall, locations known to be used by snakes had a more southerly aspect, more rock cover, shallower soil and litter, and less shrub cover than other sites. This study was constrained by the small number of known sites for Sharp-tailed Snakes in southwestern British Columbia, making our conclusions suggestive rather than definitive. Future work should incorporate additional variables. It also might be useful to undertake comparative habitat studies elsewhere in the range of the Sharp-tailed Snake where it is more common.

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Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) feeding on snakes (Reptilia: Squamata)

Nyffeler

Gibbons

2021

The Journal of Arachnology

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Aggregations of Sharptail Snakes (Contia tenuis) on the East Slope of the Cascade Range in Washington State

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Spatial distribution and abundance of Common Sharp-tailed Snakes (Contia tenuis) on Observatory Hill, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Spatial distribution and abundance of Common Sharp-tailed Snakes (Contia tenuis) on Observatory Hill, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The Rumsfeld Paradigm: Knowns and Unknowns in Characterizing Habitats Used by the Endangered Sharp-tailed Snake, <em>Contia tenuis</em>, in Southwestern British Columbia

Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) feeding on snakes (Reptilia: Squamata)

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