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Of changing climate and habitat: range-wide individual growth and local patterns of phenology and landscape use in a threatened pit-viper

Over the 21st century, climate change and wetland habitat loss will pose major threats to the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), a federally threatened and Great Lakes region endemic rattlesnake. I collected capture-recapture data from sites across the range and modeled the effect of climatic variables on growth rate and asymptotic size. I found that high snow residence time was associated with larger asymptotic sizes but slower growth, while high spring precipitation increased growth rate. I then projected future growth and size under different carbon emission scenarios. Given the threat posed by successional encroachment of woody vegetation, I used spatially explicit capture-recapture models to examine the effects of landscape characteristics and phenology on the spatial distribution of density for a population in Michigan. I found highest density in areas close to a stream and with low vegetation intensity, which can inform prescribed burn programs and give additional insights into life history.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-6992
Date08 December 2023
CreatorsHelferich, James
PublisherScholars Junction
Source SetsMississippi State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations

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