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Ecology Of Neotropical Arboreal Snakes And Behavior Of New World Mollusk-Eating Snakes, Julie M. Ray

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The Neotropics is a biologically diverse region that provides man opportunities for ecological and behavioral studies. I utilized the speciose ophidian fauna of central Panama to explore the general ecology of arboreal snakes, the defensive behaviors of the snake community, and the diet of mollusk-eating snakes. I studied arboreal species to understand interspecilic relationships in several morphometric characters and to examine preferences in habitat. There were significant morphometric differences in relative length of jaw, mass, tail length, and size at midbody. The arboreal realm was partitioned among species by distance to ground, distance to water, and diameter of the perch. …