Meeting Abstract
91.5 Wednesday, Jan. 7 The Influence of Habitat Variation on Snake Body Temperature and Behavior on Konza Prairie FILL, J.F.**; KLUG, P.; SANDERCOCK, B.K.; University of Massachusetts Amherst; Kansas State University; Kansas State University jfill@student.umass.edu
An understanding of how snake behavior is influenced by tallgrass prairie management (burning and grazing) is critical in understanding how these animals will respond to the anthropogenic changes to the ecosystem, and how this may affect their predatory relationship with grassland birds. My objective was to investigate the influence of burning and grazing on snake behavior. To do this I looked at the relationship between snake body temperature and habitat structure resulting from experimental grazing and burning treatments on Konza Prairie. I radiotracked yellow-bellied racers (Coluber constrictor) and Great Plains ratsnakes (Pantherophis emoryi) on Konza Prairie from June to August, recording body temperature and both watershed (treatment type) and habitat at each location. ANOVA results showed that body temperature differed significantly between species (P<0.0001) and within each species it differed among snakes located in grassland, edge, forest, and shrubby draws (ratsnake: P=0.02 and racer: P=0.0036). Contrary to the expected habitat associations of racers with grassland and ratsnakes with edge (based on preferred body temperature of the species), I found racers using shrubby draws more often in less frequently burned areas while ratsnakes exhibited no outstanding trend. Based on the correlation between body and litter temperatures in the racer (r2=0.48) and between body and under-rock temperatures in the ratsnake (r2=0.50), I conclude that behavioral use of habitat in the racer is more strongly affected by management due to alteration of substrate by burning. While differences in use of macrohabitats may also be a result of foraging strategy, availability of macrohabitat, or predator avoidance, these results represent a reaction to alteration of the landscape that may have important implications for biodiversity conservation.
