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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Ecology Of The Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon P. Piscivorus) At Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge: A Comparative Study Of Natural And Anthropogenic Marsh Habitats, Chad Lee Cross
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Mark-recapture sampling and radiotelemetry were used to investigate populations of the eastern cottonmouth, Agkistrodon p. piscivorus, in both natural and anthropogenic marsh habitats at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (BBNWR), Virginia Beach, Virginia from autumn 1995 to late spring 1998. Mark-recapture subjects were captured, marked by ventral scale-clipping, and released back into the population. A modified Schnabel Census estimator was used to estimate population sizes and corresponding densities in both marsh systems based on a total of 244 captures of 222 individuals. Most snakes were found >0.05 in from water, but it was apparent that proximity to water played …
The Hold-Release Mechanism In The Family Crotalidae, Ronald K. Easter
The Hold-Release Mechanism In The Family Crotalidae, Ronald K. Easter
Masters Theses
Strike/release vs. strike/hold feeding behavior was observed for 5 Crotalus atrox and 5 Agkistrodon piscivorous. Two sizes of warm blooded prey were offered to the rattlesnakes on alternate weeks. Cottonmouths were offered, alternately, fish or mice of equal size. Although data varied among individual subjects, cottonmouths offered fish demonstrated the strike/hold behavior significantly more often than the strike/release behavior; cottonmouths offered mice struck and released significantly more often than they struck and held. It is concluded that the strike/hold strategy in sreponse to fish is adventageous because the danger of holding such prey is minimal and the release of …