This fortnight’s episode is dedicated to boas. The first portion looks into how boas hunt; their ability to subdue prey and potentially hunt in a “coordinated” fashion. After, we dig into some landscape genetics and see how the success of cave dwelling boas could boost their conservation chances. Staying on message, our Species of the Bi-week is another ghostly snake from a tropical island. To round the episode off we slide into a lengthy tangent concerning the “dual purpose” of locality data and how it can feed into poaching activity. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

 

Main Paper References:

Boback, S. M., K. J. McCann, K. A. Wood, P. M. McNeal, E. L. Blankenship, and C. F. Zwemer. 2015. “Snake Constriction Rapidly Induces Circulatory Arrest in Rats.” Journal of Experimental Biology 218 (14): 2279–88. doi:10.1242/jeb.121384. OPEN ACCESS

Dinets, Vladimir. 2017. “Coordinated Hunting by Cuban Boas.” Animal Behaviour and Cognition 4 (1): 24–29. OPEN ACCESS

Puente-Rolón, Alberto R., R. Graham Reynolds, and Liam J. Revell. 2013. “Preliminary Genetic Analysis Supports Cave Populations as Targets for Conservation in the Endemic Endangered Puerto Rican Boa (Boidae: Epicrates Inornatus).” PLoS ONE 8 (5). OPEN ACCESS

Species of the Bi-Week:

Reynolds, R Graham, Alberto R. Puente-Rolón, Anthony J. Geneva, Kevin J. Aviles-Rodriguez, and Nicholas C Herrmann. 2016. “Discovery of a Remarkable New Boa from the Conception Island Bank, Bahamas.” Breviora 549 (1): 1–19.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Boback, S. M., A. E. Hall, K. J. McCann, A. W. Hayes, J. S. Forrester, and C. F. Zwemer. 2012. “Snake Modulates Constriction in Response to Prey’s Heartbeat.” Biology Letters 8 (3): 473–76. OPEN ACCESS

Chiszar, David, Donal Boyer, Robert Lee, James B. Murphy, and Charles W. Radcliffe. "Caudal luring in the southern death adder, Acanthophis antarcticus." Journal of Herpetology (1990): 253-260.

Day, M. and P. Tolson. 1996. “Chilabothrus angulifer.” The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1996: e.T7815A12852846. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T7815A12852846.en

Dinets, V., J.C. Brueggen, and J.D. Brueggen. 2015. “Crocodilians Use Tools for Hunting.” Ethology Ecology & Evolution 27 (1). Taylor & Francis: 74–78. .

Dinets, Vladimir. 2014. “Apparent Coordination and Collaboration in Cooperatively Hunting Crocodilians.” Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 27 (2): 1–7.

Hardy, D. L. 1994. ”A re-evaluation of suffocation as the cause of death during constriction by snakes.” Herpetological Review: 25, 45-47

James, M., and T. Fox. 2007. “The Largest of Lizards.” The Newsletter of the Gippsland Plains Conservation Management Network 1 (XII): 9. OPEN ACCESS

Lindenmayer, David and Ben Scheele. 2017. “Do Not Publish.” Science Magazine. 356 (6340) : 800-801. 

Madsen, Thomas, Bo Stille, and Richard Shine. 1996. "Inbreeding depression in an isolated population of adders Vipera berus." Biological conservation 75 (2): 113-118.

Murphy, James B., Charles C. Carpenter, and James C. Gillingham. 1978. "Caudal luring in the green tree python, Chondropython viridis (Reptilia, Serpentes, Boidae)." Journal of Herpetology 12 (1): 117-119. 

O'Shea, M. 2007. Boas and Pythons of the World. New Holland Publishers.

Puente-Rolón, Alberto R., and Fernando J. Bird-Picó. 2004. “Foraging Behavior, Home Range, Movements and Activity Patterns of Epicrates Inornatus (Boidae) at Mata de Plátano Reserve in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.” Caribbean Journal of Science 40 (3): 343–52. OPEN ACCESS

Pyron, R. Alexander, R. Graham Reynolds, and Frank T. Burbrink. 2014. “A Taxonomic Revision of Boas (Serpentes: Boidae).” Zootaxa 3846 (2): 249–60.

Radcliffe, Charles W., D. Chiszar, and H. B. Smith. 1980. "Prey-induced caudal movements in Boa constrictor with comments on the evolution of caudal luring." Bulletin of the Maryland Herp