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Road-Edge Effects On Herpetofauna In A Lowland Amazonian Rainforest, Ross J. Maynard, Nathalie C. Aall, Daniel Saenz, Paul S. Hamilton, Matthew Kwiatkowski
Road-Edge Effects On Herpetofauna In A Lowland Amazonian Rainforest, Ross J. Maynard, Nathalie C. Aall, Daniel Saenz, Paul S. Hamilton, Matthew Kwiatkowski
Faculty Publications
The impact of roads on the flora and fauna of Neotropical rainforest is perhaps the single biggest driver of habitat modification and population declines in these ecosystems. We investigated the road-edge effect of a low-use dirt road on amphibian and reptile abundance, diversity, and composition within adjacent lowland Amazonian rainforest at San José de Payamino, Ecuador. The road has been closed to vehicle traffic since its construction in 2010. Thus, effects from vehicle mortality, vehicle-related pollution, and road noise were not confounding factors. Herpetofauna were surveyed using both visual encounter surveys and drift fences with pitfall and funnel traps at …
Home Ranges Of Rat Snakes (Colubridae: Elaphe) In Different Habitats, Stephen J. Mullin, William H. N. Gutzke, Gary D. Zenitsky, Robert J. Cooper
Home Ranges Of Rat Snakes (Colubridae: Elaphe) In Different Habitats, Stephen J. Mullin, William H. N. Gutzke, Gary D. Zenitsky, Robert J. Cooper
Faculty Publications
Based on our findings, we suggest that rat snakes represent not only a major predator of kites, but also of other canopy and mid-story nesting species in the southeastern United States. For example, rat snakes are the most dominant snake nest predator of bird nests throughout the Southeast (DeGregorio et al. 2014) and are skilled tree climbers that often occupy arboreal habitats (Jackson 1976, Keller and Heske 2000, Sperry et al. 2009), particularly in bottomland forests (Mullin et al. 2000, Carfagno and Weatherhead 2009). Thus, the role of rat snakes as predators of nests above the understory is likely underappreciated …