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Dietary Resource Utilization Patterns And Head Morphology Among Three Sympatric Watersnake Species., Micah Warren Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The coexistence of similar species may be related to a variety of resource utilization differences. Dietary resource utilization variation may be the most important difference allowing for the coexistence of sympatric snake species. Many watersnakes (Nerodia spp.) live in sympatry and use similar aquatic habitats feeding on similar prey. While these sympatric watersnakes may have different general foraging patterns, snake diet may be affected by a variety of factors. Therefore, I initiated an investigation to understand the coexistence of sympatric plain-bellied (N. erythrogaster), diamondback (N. rhombifer) and northern (N. sipedon) watersnakes by addressing …