



Moderator: Scott Waters
Well, quite frankly, I can't speak from experience because we've had only one half way decent winter since I've been herping the Mojave, and that was 2007-2008 and that was the only year I had a half decent night out in the east (west is very different). But, all the old timers keep hoping for rain so I figure they must knowRobertH wrote:I thought I read that herps don't much respond to rain in the Mojave. So how much does it really matter?
He hasn't finished his book on the subject...monklet wrote:Hmmm, so, you're suggesting that knowledgable individuals are all aligned toward withholding interesting and helpful information regarding climate and weather, and how those are related to herp activity in the Mojave? ...on a field herping forum?
WTF?
Brad: Yes to water conservation, although it's hard to tease out the "moisture" part from the overall "energy conservation" scheme. Water loss is a bigger deal for smaller species and juveiles of larger species (surface area / volume relationship at work here). Some species are more susceptible to water loss than others; I'll use a lizard example here: Coleonyx variegatus vs. C. switaki (the latter, of course, is more prone to water loss and tends to be surface activite during periods of relatively high humidity).monklet wrote:Thanks much Robert. Just the kind of informed response I was hoping for. No where do you suggest that moisture conservation by snakes during droughy years/cycles is a factor in their activity. Can I assume that you don't give much weight to that supposition?
edit: Jim, your post hit before while I was writing. Good points I would think.
Thanks,
Brad
There is a great paper by the late Ben Dial and Lee Grismer that nicely details the physiological differences between the "big" geckos (switaki and reticulatus) vs. the small northern species (brevis and variegatus). The latter two are physiologically better equipped to survive in a very xeric environment, whereas the two biggies have comparatively "leaky" skin that restricts when they can be active and where they can live.monklet wrote:Roger, thanks again Robert![]()
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To me all of the Coleonyx seem like they'd be especially vulnerable to transdermal water loss, but that is just my impression based on their soft, almost translucent looking, skin. Always hard for me to imagine such seemingly delicate looking creatures surviving in such harsh environs. ...but apparently my impression ain't worth much in this case
Perhaps, but I'm interested in diverse herpetofauna families, Colubridae, Crotalidae, Boidae, Hydrophiidae, Renadae, for instanceClaw and Scale wrote:Do I detect some prejudicial bias in terms of interest in specific families of herpetofauna?