Leave or Die: Dispersal of Red-Bellied Mudsnakes (Farancia abacura) from their Home Ranges in an Isolated Wetland

Plummer, Michael V.; O’Neal, Caleb S.; Cooper, Steven M.; Stork, Ryan; Mills, Nathan E.; McKinney, Aric B.

doi:10.1007/s13157-020-01362-w

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Vegetative (often "riparian") buffer strips within agricultural monocultures can provide valuable dispersal corridors, however, this practice is not extensively implemented in the Rainwater Basin ecoregion or Great Plains at large (Row et al 2010;Smith et al 2011;Biaggini and Corti 2015;Malzahn et al 2021). Drainage ditches, generally on the margins between agriculture fields and roads, likely present the most abundant corridors for dispersal between suitable habitats for S. occipitomaculata throughout most of the Rainwater Basin ecoregion based on studies of other snake species in agricultural landscapes (Row et al 2010;Plummer et al 2020a). A persistent population of S. occipitomaculata at Johnson WPA is likely to be genetically isolated considering heavy landscape fragmentation, limited movement corridor availability regionally, and the species' modest dispersal abilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A key uncertainty in estimating the potential carrying capacity of Johnson WPA for S. occipitomaculata is the degree to which their home ranges overlap. Patterns of home range overlap can vary widely for Colubrid snakes by species, season, sex, and habitat availability (Bauder et al 2016;Plummer et al 2020b). Presuming moderate overlap (40%) of individual home ranges with adjacent conspecifics as well as home range sizes varying from larger S. dekayi (0.12 ha) to average D. punctatus (0.38 ha) estimates, we conjecture that S. occipitomaculata density could vary from roughly 4.4 to 13.9 individuals per ha in south-central Nebraska (Fitch 1975;Freedman andCatling 1979: Fitch 1993;Bauder et al 2016;Henle et al 2017;Plummer et al 2020b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Patterns of home range overlap can vary widely for Colubrid snakes by species, season, sex, and habitat availability (Bauder et al 2016;Plummer et al 2020b). Presuming moderate overlap (40%) of individual home ranges with adjacent conspecifics as well as home range sizes varying from larger S. dekayi (0.12 ha) to average D. punctatus (0.38 ha) estimates, we conjecture that S. occipitomaculata density could vary from roughly 4.4 to 13.9 individuals per ha in south-central Nebraska (Fitch 1975;Freedman andCatling 1979: Fitch 1993;Bauder et al 2016;Henle et al 2017;Plummer et al 2020b). Extrapolating on these density estimates and assuming ~60% habitat availability at Johnson WPA (i.e., the driest portions may not support gastropods and the wettest portions often pond water), it is possible that this site could support between 621-1,967 S. occipitomaculata.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occurrence of the Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) on the margins of a disjunct range

Schaaf¹,

Caven²

2023

RandA

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The Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) can be found throughout much of eastern North America, though two notable disjunct populations exist in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota and the Central Platte River Valley in southcentral Nebraska, west of the species’ core range. While literature continues to be added on the Red-bellied Snake and its natural history, it remains largely understudied in Nebraska. Throughout much of this species’ range, it is considered associated with woodland and wetland habitat features. On 28 September 2021, we detected one Red-bellied Snake near a treeless playa wetland in the Rainwater Basins ecoregion of southcentral Nebraska. Using a Grubbs Test to determine significant outliers, we found that this record was further from the Platte River than other previous accounts of this species in the state. This observation suggests this species may be found in other portions of the Rainwater Basins and considerably further from the Platte River than previously believed. Our observation along with other recent work indicates that Red-bellied Snakes may persist in herbaceous habitats lacking established woodland that include sufficient wetland features to support their primary food sources, including gastropods and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Due to the fragmentation of suitable habitats in the Rainwater Basins, coupled with the low dispersal of Red-bellied Snakes, populations persisting in the region are likely to be isolated.

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