Population Ecology of the Lake Erie Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon insularum

Copeia ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 1986 (3) ◽  
pp. 757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. King
Keyword(s):  
Population Ecology ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Water Snake

Color pattern variation in Lake Erie water snakes: inheritance

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 1985-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. King
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Major Locus ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
Estimate Heritability ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Water Snakes

The hypothesis that color pattern variation in Lake Erie island water snake (Nerodia sipedon) populations results from the opposing effects of natural selection and gene flow requires that this variation have a genetic basis. To determine whether color pattern variation is genetically based, data on the color pattern of wild-caught females and their captive-born offspring were used to estimate heritability of and correlations among four color pattern components. These data, and the results of two laboratory crosses, were also used to test for major locus influences on color pattern. Heritabilities of color pattern components estimated from sib analysis were significantly greater than zero for all four color pattern components, ranging from 0.34 to 0.79. Phenotypic and genetic correlations among color pattern components were positive, ranging from 0.24 to 0.55 (phenotypic correlations) and from 0.40 to 0.82 (genetic correlations). However, inheritance of color pattern was not strictly quantitative. Rather, a major locus appeared to influence color pattern, with alleles at this locus possibly determining whether snakes had regular (mainland-like) or reduced color patterns. Allele frequencies at this locus may have influenced the rate at which island and mainland water snake populations initially differentiated from each other, and may explain the lack of reduced-pattern morphs under similar selective regimes elsewhere.

Hematology of Wild Lake Erie Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon insularum) with Natural Ophidiomycosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brina Gartlan ◽  
Ellen Haynes ◽  
Kathryn Vivirito ◽  
Kennymac Durante ◽  
Allison Wright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon

The role of temperature in microhabitat selection by northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C. Robertson ◽  
Patrick J. Weatherhead
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Microhabitat Selection ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Leopard Frogs ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
Northern Water Snakes ◽  
Water Snakes ◽  
Circadian Patterns

Using field observations and laboratory experiments we examined the role of temperature in microhabitat selection by an eastern Ontario population of northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon). From 1349 random transects through a marsh we found that basking activity peaked at 09:00 and then declined steadily until 14:00 before increasing again. Our ability to detect snakes depended upon the microhabitat they occupied, and to the time of day when the snakes were encountered in water. In the field, temperatures of basking snakes averaged (±SE) 26.3 ± 0.7 °C (n = 36), while captive snakes in a thermal gradient showed a narrower selectivity, averaging 27.7 ± 0.4 °C (n = 21). The temperatures of basking snakes never exceeded 33 °C, even though a model snake placed in the sun reached 48 °C, suggesting that the snakes were thermoregulating to prevent overheating. In both the field and enclosures, water snakes basked more frequently as the temperature of the air increased relative to the water. Experimental manipulation of water temperature relative to air temperature revealed that temperature influenced microhabitat selection independently of circadian patterns. Finally, when in water, snakes tended to frequent habitats where leopard frogs (Rana pipiens), a common prey species, were most abundant, suggesting that prey distribution may also be an important component of water snake habitat selection.

Variation in offspring sex ratios in the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon)

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 2200-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J Weatherhead ◽  
Gregory P Brown ◽  
Melanie R Prosser ◽  
Kelley J Kissner
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Birth Date ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Northern Water Snake ◽  
Northern Water Snakes ◽  
Gravid Females ◽  
Water Snakes

We used data from 88 litters of northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) to test predictions about how mothers would adaptively vary the sex ratios of their offspring. Larger mothers produced significantly more daughters (r2 = 0.04, P = 0.05), and mothers producing larger offspring produced significantly more daughters (r2 = 0.06, P = 0.02). Because neonate size did not vary with maternal size, these sex-ratio patterns were independent of each other. These patterns were more pronounced for wild females than for females maintained in captivity while gravid, but rearing conditions did not have a significant effect on sex ratio. Also, because sex ratios were similar between captive and free-living females despite captive females giving birth 16 days earlier, on average, and because sex ratios did not vary with birth date within the two groups of females, gestation appeared not to affect sex ratio. If females vary sex ratios adaptively, only the relationship between sex ratio and neonate size was consistent with our predictions. Limited evidence from other snake species also indicates variation in neonatal sex ratios that is nonrandom but not necessarily adaptive. A better understanding of these patterns will require information on the factors that affect the fitness of male and female neonates differently. An unexpected sex-ratio pattern that we found was that 14 of 19 stillborn young were male. We speculate that this pattern could be a result of male embryonic sensitivity to temperature. Thus, the need for gravid females to maintain a high body temperature so that their young are born with enough time to find hibernation sites may conflict with the need for embryos to develop at a safe temperature.

Dynamic changes in body form during swimming in the water snake Nerodia sipedon

Zoology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Pattishall ◽  
David Cundall
Keyword(s):  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Body Form ◽  
Water Snake
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