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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Movement Ecology Of A Cryptic Ambush Predator: Integrating Radio Telemetry And Tri-Axial Accelerometry To Evaluate Spatial Strategies And Activity Patterns By Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Atrox), Dominic L. Desantis Jan 2019

Movement Ecology Of A Cryptic Ambush Predator: Integrating Radio Telemetry And Tri-Axial Accelerometry To Evaluate Spatial Strategies And Activity Patterns By Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Atrox), Dominic L. Desantis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An animal's decision to move from one location to another within its environment is determined by a complex blend of internal and external factors. Teasing apart the relative roles of specific variables in this web of interacting mechanisms has been a long-standing challenge in animal movement ecology. Historically, this problem was viewed as a sort of black box for which a myriad of methodological limitations precluded rigorous study. Recently, a diversity of animal-borne transmitters and dataloggers (i.e., bio-loggers) have circumvented many of these traditional limitations and transformed field studies of animal movement, behavior, and physiology - in some cases, allowing …


Arthropod Diets In Chihuahuan Desert Snakes, Victor Manuel Parga Jan 2018

Arthropod Diets In Chihuahuan Desert Snakes, Victor Manuel Parga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the past century, studies in herpetology regarding snake diets have been commonly focused on those species that feed or specialize in vertebrate prey items. For those that feed primarily on invertebrates however, little work has been done in determining diet specializations and comparing diets within a community of species. This Thesis focuses on small species of snakes that feed primarily on arthropods in a Chihuahuan Desert community, and will investigate if these are diet generalists or specialists. To this end, stomach contents were examined from preserved specimens of the following species: Rena humilis and Rena dissecta (Leptotyphlopidae), Gyalopion canum …


Thermal Ecology Of Urosaurus Ornatus (Ornate Tree Lizard), In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert On Indio Mountains Research Station, Texas, Julia Sandoval Alva Jan 2014

Thermal Ecology Of Urosaurus Ornatus (Ornate Tree Lizard), In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert On Indio Mountains Research Station, Texas, Julia Sandoval Alva

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to determine the thermal ecology of the small tree lizard Urosaurus ornatus in a Chihuahuan Desert landscape. The study site was located at Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS), Hudspeth County, Texas. We obtained body temperature (Tb) data on 385 lizards collected from April 2007 to June 2014 during the active period using a cloacal thermometer. Additionally, we recorded air temperature (Ta) and substrate temperature (Ts) of lizard microhabitats at the time of capture, and the operative temperature of lizard models left in the sun and shade from May to September 2014. My results …


Spatial Ecology Of The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis Subocularis) In The Chihuahuan Desert Of Trans-Pecos Texas, Arturo Rocha Jan 2012

Spatial Ecology Of The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis Subocularis) In The Chihuahuan Desert Of Trans-Pecos Texas, Arturo Rocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis subocularis) is a medium to large rat snake that occurs from south-central New Mexico, south-central Texas, down into the north-central and northeastern states of Mexico. There is paucity in the ecology of B. subocularis to date. Some North American colubrid snakes, such as Thamnophis sirtalis, are the most represented species in thermal ecology and life history studies in all reptiles. There is nothing known on the winter ecological aspects of this species, and very little information regarding its overall ecology. The goal of this study is to determine home range, movement patterns, habitats and utilization …


Systematics Of Leptopelis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) From The Itombwe Plateau, Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Francisco Portillo Jan 2012

Systematics Of Leptopelis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) From The Itombwe Plateau, Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Francisco Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Leptopelis, a genus of Central African treefrogs, includes 51 species that live in tropical forests and savannas. Currently, only two species of Leptopelis are known from the poorly explored Itombwe Plateau in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Itombwe is renowned among conservationists for its rich and endemic amphibian fauna, including: Xenopus itombwensis, Chrysobatrachus cupreonitens, Laurentophryne parkeri, Hyperolius leleupi and at least three species of Arthroleptis. Evolutionary relationships of Itombwe Leptopelis were examined by sequencing two mitochondrial genes (16S: 557 bp [base pairs], cyt b: 620 bp) and one nuclear gene (RAG1: 761 bp). Results recovered strong support for …


Phylogeography Of Northern Populations Of The Black-Tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus Molossus Baird And Girard, 1853) With The Revalidation Of C. Ornatus Hallowell, 1854, Christopher Anderson Jan 2011

Phylogeography Of Northern Populations Of The Black-Tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus Molossus Baird And Girard, 1853) With The Revalidation Of C. Ornatus Hallowell, 1854, Christopher Anderson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus Baird and Girard, 1853) is a wide-ranging species complex with representatives from the southwestern United States through the highlands of central and southern Mexico. The systematics of this group has received little attention and in the past six decades only two taxonomic revisions have been proposed (the transfer of C. basiliscus oaxacus to C. molossus and the elevation of C. m. estebanensis to full species). However, a recent revision of the Neotropical rattlesnakes (C. durissus and C. simus) recovered a polyphyletic C. molossus. Sequenced data were obtained from three mitochondrial genes …