|
1-7 of 7 messages
|
Page 1 of 1
|
|
Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by questionaire on May 2, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Hello,
I am in the Southeast and am trying to locate information & sources for scientific information about the activity range, range length, daily activity range, habitat usage, & micro-habitat preferences of juvenile Agkistrodon piscivorus. This quest led me to realize that I also need info on adult females habits & preferences of micro-climate & so forth for birthsites. My primary interest is in cottonmouths that don't live in the immediate vicinity of a water source. I am also interested in information on how the droughts of the past few years in the Southeast have affected all of the above.
I began with one question to which I couldn't find a satifactory answer. Now I have more questions than a health insurance questionaire. Hence the nickname.
I have searched dozens of internet sites that have only the most general information. I have been searching Amazon for good books. I welcome suggestions for detailed reading material that will cover the above for Agkistrodon piscivorus. A book that does the same for all snakes of the Southeast would be a dream come true. The first books I am considering buying are "Snakes of the Southeast" by Whit Gibbons, "A Field Guide to Snakes of North America: East & Central Regions" by Alan Tennant, & "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern & North Central America" Roger Conant. Are these good choices?
I am quite frustrated with the general information I keep finding, such as "cottonmouths live near a water source", that doesn't even define "near". What is near, 20 feet, 300 yards, 1 mile?
Here are a few more specific questions.
How far do baby cottonmouths travel from the birthsite during their first week of life?
How far do they move from the birthsite in their first year?
How far from the birthsite do they establish their own range or territory?
When do they establish their range?
How do they use their range? (Do they follow a looping pattern? Do they have favorite routes or spots?)
Is it unusual for cottonmouths to live on a dry sandy hill or in a wooded area with deep leaf litter?
Thanks in advance for your patience with my questions & your expert advice.
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on May 2, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
questionaire, you are asking some very good questions.
There are many folks here who will probably be able to help you. However, we ask all new visitors to fill in their Profile. Many here will not answer questions from someone we know nothing about.
As far as books, have you considered
"Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review" by Howard K. Gloyd and Roger Conant.
Also, "The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere," 2 Vol. Set
by Jonathan A. Campbell, and William W. Lamar
Costly books, but both will have much more of the specific scientific information you are looking for.
The books you mentioned by Gibbons and others are more of a general nature, and do not answer many of the specific questions that you have. However, they are still worth reading.
Fill in your profile, and let us know more of the research you are doing.
Best Regards JohnZ
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by Atrox788 on May 2, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Very interesting questions which I'm afraid i lack answers for. I can tell you that your best bet for published knowledge on Cottonmouths is "The Agkistrodon Complex" by Conant and Gloyd. It is the best source of info on the genus Agkistrodon ever published and worth its weight in gold if you fancy copperheads, cottonmouth and cantils along with some other Asian species that have now been found to be completely ooutside of the complex. Its an older publication some alot of the taxonomy is out of date but everything on true Agklistrodon is sound.
As for Cotton habitat, all I can tell you is what i have personal encountered. I have never seen a cottonmouth more then 20 yrds from a water source. I would imagine their movments would be similar to Alligators I.E they stay near a stable body of water and perhaps expand out in times of increased rain fall i.e new water sources but I am realy just speculating. Keep in mind that a water source can be any source of water. Creek, river, lake. Ok, any source of water aside from teh ocean though in FL there are even established populations of some of the FL Key Islands so even salt water inst out of the question to some extent.
I have personaly never seen a cottonmouth on any sort of incline like a hill as you mentioned but I onlty have experince with Eastern Cottons in coastal NC where hill do not exsist. The Western ssp ranges into higer elevations and hillier areas I assume but I have no first hand info on them.
Well, unfortunately thats all I have for you. If you can track down the Agkistrodon complex I believe it can answer atleast some of your questions.
best Regards,
Jeremy
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by Phobos on May 3, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
I would suggest that everyone follow Cro's lead and NOT offer any information till the person asking the question has filled out their profile.
Al
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by questionaire on May 3, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
I had a good laugh at myself. I was so intent on asking my questions succinctly, I didn't even realize I had a profile to fill out. Sorry, I understand the reasons professionals are reluctant to give information to unknown individuals who might be irresponsible at best.
I have spent the better part of Saturday morning working on my profile. I hope it will ease everyone's minds to know that I do not keep any snakes. My snakes are all feral. LOL. The only time I handle them is when they need to be relocated for safety. I use proper tools and never touch them with my hands.
I hope that you guys can understand why a woman who lives alone in a rural area would not want to post her full name, address, and photo on a public internet forum.
Any of the regulars/experts here are welcome to e-mail me for any information they deem necessary. I would love to meet an expert who is in my 'neck of the woods'.
Thanks JohnZ and Jeremy for pointing me in the right direction.
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by Phobos on May 4, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
No, compromising someones security is not the intention of this forum.
|
| |
|
RE: Activity Range of Juvenile Cottonmouths
|
Reply
|
|
by earthguy on May 5, 2008
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Questionaire,
I had many of the same questions that you do. In fact, I did my master's Thesis on that very topic. I am in the process of trying to get that published in a Journal (a lengthy and tedious but necessary process), but I'm always willing to give the abbreviated version. Cottonmouths (specifically A. p. piscivorus) are generalists. There appears to be some resource partitioning based on diet (sexual dimporphism in diet preference) but they are definitely generalists (which is one reason that they are so successful). Based on GIS/GPS data that I collected (n > 250) cottonmouth microclimates can be just about anything. To paraphrase Jayme Waldron (one of Whit Gibbon's protoge's) Where there is food and shelter there are snakes (She was actually referring to C. horridus, but it works for cottonmouths here). As an illustration, I have found cottons at every elevation and at every distance from bodies of water in every county in South Carolina East of the Fall line. Mississippi may be different, but thats what I found here.
One more book that you may want to consider (as an excellent general snake reference) is 'Snakes of the US and Canada' by Ernst and Ernst (ISBN 1-58-834019-8). It's full of lots of nifty little tidbits about all native species.
Hope this helps.
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
