Ambush Site Selection between Juveniles and
Adults of Green Bamboo Pit Viper
Ambush sites could vary due to different prey
characteristics and intra-specific competition. We examined whether
different life stages of a sit-and-wait predator, Trimeresurus stejnegeri,
select different ambush sites, based on the observations of ambush
sites of juvenile and adult snakes in three water habitats (lentic,
lotic, and temporary pools) in Taiwan throughout the year. Adult snakes
mainly used lentic water as ambush sites and rarely used temporary
pools, whereas juvenile snakes used all three habitats with a similar
frequency. No clear ontogenetic diet shift was found from juveniles to
adults. A high percentage of snakes from lentic water habitats had
stomachs containing prey, suggesting better foraging sites for both
juveniles and adults. Overall, our study highlights that habitat use
and behavior of each prey animal and intraspecific competition as well
as prey abundance should be taken into consideration when we
investigate the factors that affect ambush site selection by predators.

Read the full article, published by Zoological
Studies, here
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