A long-term study of copperhead snakes in a forest near Meriden, Connecticut, revealed that five consecutive years of drought effectively ended the snakes' reproductive output.
A long-term study of copperhead snakes in a forest near Meriden, Connecticut, revealed that five consecutive years of drought effectively ended the snakes' reproductive output.
Not one of the dozens of female snakes in the closely monitored population became pregnant the year after the drought ended, researchers found. The year before that, only one female produced offspring. In the years preceding the drought, multiple snakes produced dozens of offspring.
The new findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports.
"Before this study, we knew surprisingly little about how drought directly affects reproduction in snakes," said Mark A. Davis, a conservation biologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois. Davis co-led the research with Charles (Chuck) F. Smith, of Wofford College.
Read more at University of Groningen
Image: During a five-year drought in a forested region near Meriden, Connecticut, temporary wetlands failed to fill and permanent wetlands dried out entirely, reducing food for copperheads. By drought's end, copperhead reproduction had dropped to zero. (Credit: Photo by Chuck Smith)
