Movement patterns in Florida pine snakes are shaped by landscape heterogeneity, ambient air temperature and reproductive ethology

Abstract

Abstract Although variation in space use has been investigated extensively in terrestrial vertebrates, there have been recent criticisms that there are more data for mammals than reptiles. This may be an important consideration because the factors that shape movement patterns in reptiles could differ from those of mammals leading to misleading generalizations if data for mammals are extrapolated to reptiles. Here, we quantified the relationships between space use size, movement velocity and turn angle in 24 adult Florida pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus). We tested the effects of site, season, sex, the distribution of vegetation cover, and ambient air temperature on movement patterns. We also assessed the use of underground refugia across seasons, because underground refugia are thought to play an important role in the ecology and evolution of Florida pine snakes. Our results indicate that the movement patterns that shape space use variation in Florida pine snakes are affected by the heterogeneity of suitable microhabitats across landscapes, ambient air temperature and reproductive ethology. This study strengthens our collective understanding of movement patterns in Florida pine snakes and contributes to a growing body of knowledge of the movement ecology of snakes. Broadly, our results highlight general differences in the movement ecologies of mammals and Florida pine snakes that could potentially extend to our understanding of other ectothermic lineages, being predictably linked to metabolic theory.