Short-term movements of the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) in southeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Tozetti, Alexandro M. ^[1] ; Vettorazzo, Victor ^[2] ; Martins, Marcio ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Ecol Vertebrados Terrestres, BR-96201900 Rio Grande, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL; v. 19, n. 4, p. 201-206, OCT 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 12

Abstract

Ecological studies of movements in animals require extensive knowledge of direction, distance and frequency of movements. The purpose of this study was to describe the daily and seasonal movements in a population of the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus. The study population inhabits a cerrado area in southeastern Brazil. Snakes were tracked with externally attached radio-transmitters and thread bobbins. Larger animals tended to make more extensive daily movements, moving further from the initial site of capture. There were no differences in average daily movements between sexes. Site fidelity was higher in the dry season for both sexes. Both sexes moved distances twice as long as those calculated by drawing a straight line between consecutive points. The movement pattern of C. durissus seemed to be similar to that observed in other tropical pit vipers, such as species of the genus Bothrops. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 01/13341-3 - Diversity of Anuran Amphibians from São Paulo State
• Grantee: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 00/12339-2 - Natural history, ecology, and evolution of Brazilian vertebrates
• Grantee: Marcio Roberto Costa Martins
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants