Why Did the Snake Cross the Road? Effects of Roads on Movement and Location of Mates by Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

By R. Shine, M. Lemaster, Michael Wall, T. Langkilde, R. Mason. 2004

167 citations recorded by the source corpus.

If animals avoid road surfaces or are unable to follow conspecific trails across such surfaces, previously continuous populations may be fragmented. We gathered data on the effects of a small (4-m wide) gravel road on the behavior and trail-following abilities of garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) in Manitoba, central Canada. As expected, the road surface had less vegetation cover, a more open canopy and, thus, higher incident radiation than did the surrounding grassland. Contrary to expectations, however, substrate temperatures were lower on the road than in its surrounds, because of the higher reflectivity of the road's surface. On a nearby asphalt road, substrate temperatures were relatively high on the road surface only in the evening, as surrounding areas cooled. Focal sampling showed that snakes avoided the gravel road, typically changing direction when they encountered it. If they crossed the road, they did so by the shortest possible route (straight across). Mate-searching male snakes were less able to follow substrate-deposited pheromonal trails left by females if those trails crossed a road than if the trails were entirely within the surrounding grassland. Thus, roads may significantly modify snake movement patterns, as well as the ability of males to locate reproductive females. Our study provides the first detailed information on the effects of roads on snake behavior.

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/753482e644e2d7dd5e875748c7c50f8cc1617e6e

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Citations in the corpus

Do small mammals avoid roads because of the traffic (2007, unknown): “Swihart & Slade 1984; Burnett 1992; McDonald & St Clair 2004a; Shine et al . 2004 ), and studies conducted on more than one road (i.e.”
The impacts of roads and other infrastructure on mammal and bird populations: a meta-analysis. (2010, background): “Therefore, we highlight the importance of broadening the analysis to other taxonomic groups, such as herpetofauna, plants and invertebrates (e.g. Przybylski, 1979; Angold, 1997; Auerbach et al., 1997; Haskell, 2000; Shine et al., 2004; Barrows et al., 2006).”
Toad on the road: use of roads as dispersal corridors by cane toads (Bufo marinus) at an invasion front in tropical Australia. (2006, background): “For example, garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) avoid roads; and if they do cross them, do so by the most direct possible route (i.e., at right angles: Shine et al., 2004 ).”