Are burrow-dwelling rattlesnakes succumbing to record-breaking heat?
Cardwell, Michael D
5201 W Vía Mallorca
Tucson, Arizona USA
Department of Biology
San Diego State University
San Diego, California USA
We are all too familiar with the overheating of our planet’s climate. But what about subterranean habitats? The unusual death of two radio-telemetered Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) in their subterranean refugia during the summer of 2023 raises the question of just how hot it gets in a rodent burrow during record-breaking daytime heat. Using shade air and subterranean temperature data from a previous study to construct a predictive model, it appears that the burrow temperature one meter below the surface may have exceeded the lethal threshold for these rattlesnakes during mid-July 2023 in southern Arizona.