So Excellent a Serpent: BC’s northern rattlesnake and its perplexing movement ecology
Larsen, Karl W.
Department of Natural Resource Science
Thompson Rivers University
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
For Canadian ecologists, the peripheral nature of our reptifauna provides a fascinating backdrop for investigating life-history studies and evolutionary ecology. Although studies of this nature may have had historical prominence, another question has risen to the top in importance: how do we conserve these peripheral species when they also are now facing tremendous anthropogenic impacts? Work of this nature has been interwoven in most herpetofaunal studies in my lab, and in particular, has shaped our studies on the movement of the Western Rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus. I will attempt to weave together the research and knowledge we have amassed on the movement ecology of the Western Rattlesnake over the past 25-some years, while also identifying some blatant knowledge gaps that I encourage the next generation of researchers to tackle. I will also touch on how the movement ecology of this animal may have implications for the development of roads and the shifting climate. The central message I will seek to convey is that the more we learn about the Western Rattlesnake across its limited range, the more we must grapple with (i) an appreciation that a significant diversity of life-history strategies occurs across the ‘peripheral populations’ of this animal, and (ii) we still have much to uncover. Darwin told us the former was not terribly unexpected, yet still it creates a conundrum for us, namely the conservation crisis requires management actions now, yet generalized strategies may not recognize the ecological diversity present within these animals over a fairly small range.