Habitat use in basking Northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes in urban New Jersey |
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Authors: | Joanna Burger Christian Jeitner Heather Jensen Megan Fitzgerald Stacey Carlucci Sheila Shukla Sean Burke Robert Ramos Michael Gochfeld |
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Institution: | (1) Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8082, USA;(2) Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;(3) UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA |
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Abstract: | The habitat use of basking northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes was examined along the Raritan Canal, an urbanized area of central New Jersey. There were significant differences between the two species with respect to cloud cover, canopy cover, and the distance to the path and the water, but not with respect to percent of the body exposed to the sun, and percent of the snake that was visible. Water snakes were more likely to bask on bushes, branches and logs than were garter snakes. Garter snakes basked when both the air and water temperature were lower than did water snakes. The lack of basking sites in the water suggests that those along shore are important, including the low hanging branches used by the watersnakes. |
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Keywords: | water snakes Nerodia sipedon eastern garter snakes Thamnophis sirtalis basking habitat temperature |
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