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.
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Research Article|
December 01 2014
Movements and Activity of Juvenile Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis)
Björn Lardner;
Björn Lardner
1Colorado State University, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1474; E-mail: (BL) [email protected]; and (JAS) [email protected]. Send reprint requests to BL.
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Julie A. Savidge;
Julie A. Savidge
1Colorado State University, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1474; E-mail: (BL) [email protected]; and (JAS) [email protected]. Send reprint requests to BL.
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Robert N. Reed;
Robert N. Reed
2U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building C, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526; E-mail: (RNR) [email protected]; and (GHR) [email protected].
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Gordon H. Rodda
Gordon H. Rodda
2U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building C, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526; E-mail: (RNR) [email protected]; and (GHR) [email protected].
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Copeia (2014) 2014 (3): 428–436.
Citation
Björn Lardner, Julie A. Savidge, Robert N. Reed, Gordon H. Rodda; Movements and Activity of Juvenile Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis). Copeia 1 December 2014; 2014 (3): 428–436. doi: https://doi.org/10.1643/CE-14-050
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