Hibernation Site Selection by Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) near Their Northern Range Limit

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Harvey ◽  
Patrick J. Weatherhead
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus Catenatus ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Thermal ecology of Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) near their northern range limit

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Harvey ◽  
Patrick J. Weatherhead
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Elaphe Obsoleta ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Cool Environment ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Preferred Body Temperature ◽  
Thermoregulatory Behaviour

Using populations at their northern range limits, we compared the thermoregulatory behaviour of Massasauga Rattlesnakes ( Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque, 1818)) to published results for Ratsnakes ( Elaphe obsoleta (Say in James, 1823)) and Northern Watersnakes ( Nerodia sipedon (L., 1758)) to test the hypothesis that given similar benefits of thermoregulation, costs associated with foraging ecology should shape thermoregulatory behaviour. More than 32 000 body temperature measurements from 34 individual snakes over 4 years were used to quantify thermoregulation by Massasauga Rattlesnakes using standard indices and a new index (%MaxE) that describes how much of the thermoregulatory potential available to a snake is realized. On average, Massasaugas were much cooler (db = 6.9 °C) than their preferred body temperature range (30–33.6 °C) but warmer (de – db = 3.3 °C) than were they not thermoregulating. Massasaugas realized more than half of their environmental potential for effective thermoregulation (%MaxE = 64%). Consistent with there being less conflict between foraging and thermoregulation for ambush predators than active foragers, Massasaugas were more effective thermoregulators than Ratsnakes or Watersnakes during the day. All three species were effective thermoregulators at night, supporting the assumption that species in a cool environment will thermoregulate when there are few competing interests.

Green Turtles Nesting at Their Northern Range Limit in the United States Represent a Distinct Subpopulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Shamblin ◽  
Matthew H. Godfrey ◽  
S. Michelle Pate ◽  
William P. Thompson ◽  
Hope Sutton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Green Turtles ◽  
Distinct Subpopulation ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Breeding behaviour of ectotherms at high latitudes: the case of the natterjack toad Epidalea calamita at its northern range limit

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Linda Saare ◽  
Riinu Rannap
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Abstract We explored the breeding behaviour of a threatened amphibian, the natterjack toad, at its northern range limit in Estonia, to determine the extent to which reproduction is affected by harsh and unstable climatic conditions. Using photo identification of specimens, we found that in optimal weather conditions males formed three breeding cohorts, while in adverse conditions only a single cohort occurred and under extreme conditions reproduction was skipped entirely. During the extended breeding season, larger males participated in reproduction throughout the breeding period, while smaller males appeared in later cohorts. Breeding success was related to the calling effort of a male, where larger males had greater mating success than smaller ones. We found that the natterjack toad males exhibit significant plasticity in reproductive behaviour at the northern range limit, which, given the energetic cost of reproduction and the increased risk of predation, allows them to increase their fitness at high latitudes.

scholarly journals Frontier mutualism: coevolutionary patterns at the northern range limit of the leaf-cutter ant–fungus symbiosis

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1721) ◽  
pp. 3050-3059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich G. Mueller ◽  
Alexander S. Mikheyev ◽  
Scott E. Solomon ◽  
Michael Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Range Limits ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Dispersal Barrier ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Genetic Patterns ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Traditional Assumption ◽  
Ant Fungus

Tropical leaf-cutter ants cultivate the fungus Attamyces bromatificus in a many-to-one, diffuse coevolutionary relationship where ant and fungal partners re-associate frequently over time. To evaluate whether ant– Attamyces coevolution is more specific (tighter) in peripheral populations, we characterized the host-specificities of Attamyces genotypes at their northern, subtropical range limits (southern USA, Mexico and Cuba). Population-genetic patterns of northern Attamyces reveal features that have so far not been observed in the diffusely coevolving, tropical ant– Attamyces associations. These unique features include (i) cases of one-to-one ant– Attamyces specialization that tighten coevolution at the northern frontier; (ii) distributions of genetically identical Attamyces clones over large areas (up to 81 000 km 2 , approx. the area of Ireland, Austria or Panama); (iii) admixture rates between Attamyces lineages that appear lower in northern than in tropical populations; and (iv) long-distance gene flow of Attamyces across a dispersal barrier for leaf-cutter ants (ocean between mainland North America and Cuba). The latter suggests that Attamyces fungi may occasionally disperse independently of the ants, contrary to the traditional assumption that Attamyces fungi depend entirely on leaf-cutter queens for dispersal. Peripheral populations in Argentina or at mid-elevation sites in the Andes may reveal additional regional variants in ant– Attamyces coevolution. Studies of such populations are most likely to inform models of coextinctions of obligate mutualistic partners that are doubly stressed by habitat marginality and by environmental change.

Note on the Size of Sistrurus catenatus catenatus at Birth

1973 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 381 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Keenlyne ◽  
J. R. Beer
Keyword(s):  
Sistrurus Catenatus ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus Catenatus

Living on the edge: Fig tree phenology at the northern range limit of monoecious Ficus in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu-Shui Zhang ◽  
Stephen G. Compton ◽  
Hui Xiao ◽  
Qian Lu ◽  
Yan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Range Limit ◽  
Tree Phenology ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Fig Tree
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