An Examination of Scale-Dependent Resource Use by Eastern Hognose Snakes in Southcentral New Hampshire

The decline of many snake populations is attributable to habitat loss, and knowledge of habitat use is critical to their conservation. Resource characteristics (e.g., relative availability of different habitat types, soils, and slopes) within a landscape are scale-dependent and may not be equal acro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2009-11, Vol.73 (8), p.1387-1393
Main Authors: Lagory, Kirk E, Walston, Leroy J, Goulet, Celine, Van Lonkhuyzen, Robert A, Najjar, Stephen, Andrews, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal scales
AVAILABILITY
Conservation
eastern hognose snake
ecotones
endangered species
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Forest habitats
Forest management
FORESTS
HABITAT
Habitat conservation
Habitat preferences
Habitat selection
Habitat utilization
Habitats
Heterodon
Heterodon platirhinos
HOME RANGE
Landscape
LOAM
MAINTENANCE
MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION
Natural resources
Natural resources conservation
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Rangelands
Rare species
Reptiles and Amphibians
Sandy loam soils
SNAKES
Soil
SOILS
Soils (loam)
Soils (sandy)
spatial distribution
spatial scale
Studies
WETLANDS
Wildlife conservation
wildlife habitats
Wildlife management
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Summary:The decline of many snake populations is attributable to habitat loss, and knowledge of habitat use is critical to their conservation. Resource characteristics (e.g., relative availability of different habitat types, soils, and slopes) within a landscape are scale-dependent and may not be equal across multiple spatial scales. Thus, it is important to identify the relevant spatial scales at which resource selection occurs. We conducted a radiotelemetry study of eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) home range size and resource use at different hierarchical spatial scales. We present the results for 8 snakes radiotracked during a 2-year study at New Boston Air Force Station (NBAFS) in southern New Hampshire, USA, where the species is listed by the state as endangered. Mean home range size (minimum convex polygon) at NBAFS (51.7 ± 14.7 ha) was similar to that reported in other parts of the species' range. Radiotracked snakes exhibited different patterns of resource use at different spatial scales. At the landscape scale (selection of locations within the landscape), snakes overutilized old-field and forest edge habitats and underutilized forested habitats and wetlands relative to availability. At this scale, snakes also overutilized areas containing sandy loam soils and areas with lower slope (mean slope = 5.2% at snake locations vs. 6.7% at random locations). We failed to detect some of these patterns of resource use at the home range scale (i.e., within the home range). Our ability to detect resource selection by the snakes only at the landscape scale is likely the result of greater heterogeneity in macrohabitat features at the broader landscape scale. From a management perspective, future studies of habitat selection for rare species should include measurement of available habitat at spatial scales larger than the home range. We suggest that the maintenance of open early successional habitats as a component of forested landscapes will be critical for the persistence of eastern hognose snake populations in the northeastern United States.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2193/2008-422