Distribution, Habitat, and Future of Harter's Water Snake, Nerodia harteri, in Texas

Scott, Norman J.; Maxwell, Terry C.; Thornton, Okla W.; Fitzgerald, Lee A.; Flury, John W.

doi:10.2307/1564049

Cited by 27 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…also exhibit such shifts (Tiebout & Cary 1987;Scott et al 1989;Manjarrez & Macias Garcia 1991). Scott et al (1989) reported that adults of three species of water snakes were found more frequently in deeper water than were juveniles. There may also be selective factors acting in populations that facilitate the use of different habitats by larger (older) snakes.…”

Section: Physiological and Morphological Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Ontogenetic changes in foraging behaviour and habitat use by the Oregon garter snake, Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus

Lind

Welsh

1994

Animal Behaviour

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Section: Physiological and Morphological Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Ontogenetic changes in foraging behaviour and habitat use by the Oregon garter snake, Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus

Lind

Welsh

1994

Animal Behaviour

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“…We inspected each coverboard on the same day as pitfall traps, including the day we opened the traps. We sampled 143 non-consecutive days of coverboards, corresponding to 10,296 inspections; 3) Time constrained search (sensu Campbell & Christman 1982, Scott et al 1989, Martins & Oliveira 1998) consisted of walking slowly, searching for snakes in all visual accessible microhabitats. The sampling effort and encounter rate of snakes were based on person-hours of search (Martins & Oliveira 1998).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and natural history of a Cerrado snake assemblage at Itirapina, São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil

2008

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Abstract:Neotropical snake assemblages present high species richness and complex structures. The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, and was included among the 25 World's biodiversity hotspots. In southeastern Brazil, the remnant Cerrado areas have suffered intense destruction, and presently less than 2% of Cerrado natural vegetation remain in São Paulo state. Virtually no detailed study on Cerrado snakes was carried out in this region. The Itirapina region has one of the last well preserved remnants of open cerrado in São Paulo state. Our purpose in this work was the study of natural history and composition of the Cerrado snakes of Itirapina region. We performed an extensive field sampling combining six sampling methods in Estação Ecológica de Itirapina and disturbed Cerrado areas in its surroundings (municipalities of Itirapina and Brotas), during 101 trips throughout 43 months, between September 1998 and March 2002, corresponding to 446 days of field sampling. We also collected additional data from museum specimens housed in scientific collections. We present data on size, general abundance, habitat and macrohabitat use, daily and seasonal activity, feeding, reproduction, and defense. We also compared the Itirapina snake assemblage with nine snake assemblages of Brazil, from Amazonia, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and other open habitats. We recorded a total of 36 snake species among 755 individuals found in the field and six records from scientific collections and literature, belonging to 25 genera and five families. The snake assemblage comparisons indicate that the Cerrado has its own identity regarding the snake composition. Although small (about 2,300 ha), the Estação Ecológica de Itirapina encompasses well preserved and representative Cerrado physiognomic forms, which harbors a rich and typical Cerrado snake fauna. The occurrence of some species only inside the reserve also indicates that the Estação Ecológica de Itirapina is of fundamental importance to the maintenance of Cerrado biodiversity.

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“…They also suffer from habitat loss and fragmentation owing to anthropogenic modification of their preferred habitats (Stefferud 1986). Nerodia h. harteri is present along a limited portion of the upper Brazos River basin in north-central Texas including the Clear Fork of the Brazos, the Brazos River, and a few minor tributaries (Scott et al 1989). Nerodia h. paucimaculata occurs within limited portions of the upper Colorado River basin in central Texas including the Concho River, the Colorado River, and some of their tributaries (Scott et al 1989; Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the relatively recent discovery of both populations of N. harteri, their distribution, habitat preference, and ecology have been extensively reviewed in the literature (Tinkle and Conant 1961;Mecham 1983;Smith 1983;Scott et al 1989;Greene et al 1994;Whiting et al 1996;Whiting et al 1997;Whiting et al 1998;Greene et al 1999;Gibbons and Dorcas 2004;Whiting et al 2008;McBride 2009). Unlike two other sympatric congeners, the Diamondback water snake (N. rhombifer) and the Blotched water snake (N. erythrogaster transversa), N. harteri is smaller bodied and more prone to desiccation and has a higher affinity for aquatic habitats (Scott et al 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unlike two other sympatric congeners, the Diamondback water snake (N. rhombifer) and the Blotched water snake (N. erythrogaster transversa), N. harteri is smaller bodied and more prone to desiccation and has a higher affinity for aquatic habitats (Scott et al 1989). This is especially true for shallow riffle habitat along the river corridor, which provides shelter and foraging habitat for hunting prey consisting largely of small minnows (Werler and Dixon 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low genetic diversity and evidence of population structure among subspecies of Nerodia harteri, a threatened water snake endemic to Texas

et al. 2012

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Nerodia harteri is a threatened small-bodied water snake that occupies one of the most restricted ranges of any snake within the continental United States. It is found closely associated with rivers and tributaries in the Colorado and Brazos river basins, which flow through north-central Texas. Nerodia harteri has been at the center of debate owing to conflicts between conservation efforts and the construction of dams that change or destroy its preferred habitat. Additionally, its taxonomic status has also been under contention with some authors recognizing two subspecies, the Brazos water snake (N. h. harteri) and the Concho water snake (N. h. paucimaculata), whereas other authors consider each separate species. Despite its relatively recent discovery during the 1940s, N. harteri has been the subject of several ecological studies, yet no population genetic assessment of either subspecies has been performed to date. We first evaluated the phylogenetic placement of both subspecies among other North American Nerodia using partial sequence data from the mitochondrial gene cytochrome-b. We then tested for population subdivision among four rivers encompassing the range of N. harteri and tested for the presence of admixture between river basins using mitochondrial sequence data (920 bp of cyt-b) and five cross-species amplified microsatellite loci. We found low mitochondrial haplotype diversity represented by two unique haplotypes in each river basin, which were separated by no more than four nucleotide changes. Nuclear loci showed low genetic diversity and population structuring within and among river basins. We did not find conclusive evidence of admixture between basins, and we support the presence of two separate evolutionarily significant units and two separate management units corresponding to each major river basin. Given increasing natural and anthropogenic threats, we recommend continued ecological and genetic monitoring of both subspecies.

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Distribution, Habitat, and Future of Harter's Water Snake, Nerodia harteri, in Texas

Cited by 27 publications

References 4 publications

Ontogenetic changes in foraging behaviour and habitat use by the Oregon garter snake, Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus

Ontogenetic changes in foraging behaviour and habitat use by the Oregon garter snake, Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus

Composition and natural history of a Cerrado snake assemblage at Itirapina, São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil

Low genetic diversity and evidence of population structure among subspecies of Nerodia harteri, a threatened water snake endemic to Texas

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