Movements and activity of juvenile Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis)

Copeia
By: , and 

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Abstract

Understanding the spatial ecology and foraging strategy of invasive animals is essential for success in control or eradication. We studied movements and activity in juvenile Brown Treesnakes on Guam, as this population segment has proven particularly difficult to control. Distance between daytime refugia (from telemetry of 18 juveniles, 423-800 mm snout-vent length) ranged from 0-118 m (n  =  86), with a grand mean of 43 m. There were tendencies for shorter snake movements on nights directly following a full moon and on dry nights, but variation among snakes was of a larger magnitude and would greatly reduce chances to detect moon or rain effects unless corrected for. Snake activity was estimated from audio recordings of signals from “tipping” radio transmitters, analyzed for pulse period and amplitude. Activity was highest in the hours immediately after sunset, and gradually declined throughout the night before dropping abruptly in conjunction with sunrise. Snake activity was higher on rainy nights, and tended to be highest during waning moons and when the moon was below the horizon. We conclude that small Brown Treesnakes forage actively and appear to move far enough to regularly encounter the traps and bait used on Guam for control purposes, suggesting that alternative explanations are required for their low capture rates with these control tools.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Movements and activity of juvenile Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis)
Series title Copeia
DOI 10.1643/CE-14-050
Volume 2014
Issue 3
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Publisher location New York, NY
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center
Description 9 p.
First page 428
Last page 436
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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