Habitat specificity and home‐range size as attributes of species vulnerability to extinction: a case study using sympatric rattlesnakes

Waldron, Jayme L.; Bennett, Stephen H.; Welch, Shane M.; Dorcas, Michael E.; Lanham, J. Drew; Kalinowsky, Wade G.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2006.00050.x

Cited by 53 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…When evergreen forests are at low levels, there is a greater probability of a relatively high proportion of other habitats being present; this habitat diversity may facilitate co‐occurrence of the two species, which exhibit different habitat preferences within a site (Waldron et al . ; Steen et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Snake co‐occurrence patterns are best explained by habitat and hypothesized effects of interspecific interactions

Steen

McClure

Brock

et al. 2013

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary1. Snakes often occur in species-rich assemblages, and sympatry is thought to be facilitated primarily by low diet overlap, not interspecific interactions. 2. We selected, a priori, three species pairs consisting of species that are morphologically and taxonomically similar and may therefore be likely to engage in interspecific, consumptive competition. We then examined a large-scale database of snake detection/nondetection data and used occupancy modelling to determine whether these species occur together more or less frequently than expected by chance while accounting for variation in detection probability among species and incorporating important habitat categories in the models. 3. For some snakes, we obtained evidence that the probabilities that habitat patches are used are influenced by the presence of potentially competing congeneric species. Specifically, timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) were less likely than expected by chance to use areas that also contained eastern diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus) when the proportion of evergreen forest was relatively high. Otherwise, they occurred together more often than expected by chance. Complex relationships were revealed between habitat use, detection probabilities and occupancy probabilities of North American racers (Coluber constrictor) and coachwhips (Coluber flagellum) that indicated the probability of competitive exclusion increased with increasing area of grassland habitat, although there was some model uncertainty. Cornsnakes (Pantherophis guttatus or Pantherophis slowinskii) and ratsnakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Pantherophis spiloides, or Pantherophis obsoletus) exhibited differences in habitat selection, but we obtained no evidence that patterns of use for this species pair were influenced by current interspecific interactions. 4. Overall, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that competitive interactions influence snake assemblage composition; the strength of these effects was affected by landscapescale habitat features. Furthermore, we suggest that current interspecific interactions may influence snake occupancy, challenging the paradigm that contemporary patterns of snake co-occurrence are largely a function of diet partitioning that arose over evolutionary time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Waldron et al . ; Halstead, Mushinsky & McCoy ). Thus, they may be expected to have undergone evolutionary divergence in the past or engage in resource partitioning currently, to reduce competitive pressure.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snake co‐occurrence patterns are best explained by habitat and hypothesized effects of interspecific interactions

Steen

McClure

Brock

et al. 2013

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…According to Gaston and Fuller (2009), the range size, as well as its evolution through time, is effectively one of the most important ecological and evolutionary characteristics of living species, and several studies defined the size of geographic range as a strong predictor of extinction risk (Fortin et al 2005;Waldron et al 2006;Gove et al 2008;Davies et al 2013). According to Gaston and Fuller (2009), the range size, as well as its evolution through time, is effectively one of the most important ecological and evolutionary characteristics of living species, and several studies defined the size of geographic range as a strong predictor of extinction risk (Fortin et al 2005;Waldron et al 2006;Gove et al 2008;Davies et al 2013).…”

Section: ''Haenydra'' Species Conservation Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for the Euro-Mediterranean headwater ecosystems, as inferred from diversity and distribution of a water beetle lineage

et al. 2014

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Euro-Mediterranean running water ecosystems represent a highly threatened habitat due to draining, construction, agriculture, eutrophication, pollution and climate changes. Thereby, the associated biodiversity is often more threatened compared to any other ecosystem and the identification of biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for running water fauna is therefore a primary target. Here we focused on invertebrates, as important indicators of ecosystem functions, modelling a lineage of water beetles and investigating the conservation status of Euro-Mediterranean headwater ecosystems. We selected the "Haenydra" lineage (Hydraenidae, genus Hydraena) as representative taxon (92 species overall, known to occur from Iberian Peninsula to W Iran), analysing a geographic database including literature, field-collecting and Museums data in order to map the distribution of biodiversity hotspots in Euro-Mediterranean headwater systems and locate the running water sites potentially important for invertebrates conservation. We hence assessed the conservation priorities assigning IUCN threat Categories-following IUCN guidelines-to all the species of the lineage, together with a herein introduced Conservation Score (CS) computed using a procedure tailored specifically for water beetles, also analysing historical series. We found that threatened categories (VU or higher), with high CSs, should be assigned to >70% of the species, suggesting that, considering this lineage a representative model, the headwaters conservation status in Euro-Mediterranean areas is alarming. Cantabria, Pyrenees, Alps and Central Apennines were identified as biodiversity hotspots, whereas the combination of IUCN categories and CSs revealed that the areas with highest conservation concern are distributed in W-Alps, E-Alps, Apennines, Central Spain, Greece and N-Turkey. Our analyses suggested a dramatic worsening of running water ecosystems in several Mediterranean regions and in particular in Italy, Greece and Turkey. The comparison between the IUCN categories and the newly introduced CSs evidenced the importance of taking into account the ecological, hydrogeological and historical features when assessing conservation strategies for running water organisms

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“…The lack of a difference between hydrated and control males in this study suggests that snake movements are unaffected by drought and further emphasizes the effect of sex. Home ranges at this site were relatively small compared to other published home range data for the C. oreganus complex (see Adams, 2005;Waldron et al, 2006;Parker & Anderson, 2007;Putman et al, 2013 for data) suggesting that snakes at Montaña de Oro do not move large enough distances to be affected by dehydration. Our study site is bounded on one side by the ocean, which may partially explain the small home ranges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Female rattlesnakes typically have smaller home ranges than males (Adams, 2005;Waldron et al, 2006;Parker & Anderson, 2007;Putman et al, 2013), because males make long-distance movements in search of mates (King & Duvall, 1990). Therefore, it is not surprising that hydrated and control females had similar home range sizes, because they typically do not occupy large home ranges in the first place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of supplemental hydration on physiology and behavior of Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus)

Capehart¹

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Habitat specificity and home‐range size as attributes of species vulnerability to extinction: a case study using sympatric rattlesnakes

Cited by 53 publications

References 31 publications

Snake co‐occurrence patterns are best explained by habitat and hypothesized effects of interspecific interactions

Snake co‐occurrence patterns are best explained by habitat and hypothesized effects of interspecific interactions

Mapping biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for the Euro-Mediterranean headwater ecosystems, as inferred from diversity and distribution of a water beetle lineage

Effects of supplemental hydration on physiology and behavior of Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus oreganus)

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