Topic
Farancia
About: Farancia is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 37 publications have been published within this topic receiving 422 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: Microcomplement fixation immunological data are presented concerning the relationships of several genera of xenodontines to two major clades within that radiation, the previously recognized Central and South American lineages, and it is suggested that an African origin is as likely as an Asian-North American origin for the neotropical lineages.
Abstract: Microcomplement fixation immunological data are presented concerning the relationships of several genera of xenodontines to two major clades within that radiation, the previously recognized Central and South American lineages. Heterodon, Farancia, Carphophis and Conophis probably represent independent lineages. The phylogenetic placements of Diadophis and Contia are ambiguous. Comparisons with representatives of other colubrid lineages do not confirm that the xenodontine lineages discussed are monophyletic. However, no association can be demonstrated between any xenodontine lineage and representatives of the other lineages tested. The albumin divergence among New World colubrines strongly suggests that they are not monophyletic relative to Old World colubrines and that the diversification of New and Old World colubrine genera occurred subsequent to the separation of the major xenodontine lineages. Xenodontines may be older than the fossil record indicates, and an African origin is as likely as an Asian-North American origin for the neotropical lineages.
77 citations
TL;DR: This study suggests that these North American snakes are not monophyletic and are nested within a group (Dipsadoidea) that contains the Dipsadidae, Xenodontidae, and Natricidae, which is used to highlight putative examples of parallel evolution of hemipenial morphology among snake clades.
57 citations
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that capture methods may bias assessments of snake population demography, but that careful design of sampling methodology, with consideration of potential biases, can yield meaningful data on snake biology.
Abstract: Ecologists often rely on a suite of demographic parameters—such as age structure, body size distributions, population density, and sex ratios—to understand life history patterns, population dynamics, and community structure of snakes. Unfortunately, in many cases little consideration is given to how sampling techniques may influence the outcome of demographic studies. Herein, we use a combination of field capture techniques, an extensive database of field-captured snakes, and laboratory and field experiments to evaluate how capture methods may influence demographic assessments of several North American semi-aquatic snake species, including Agkistrodon piscivorus, Farancia abacura, Nerodia fasciata, N. floridana, N. rhombifer, N. taxispilota, Regina rigida, Seminatrix pygaea, and Thamnophis sauritus. We found that commercially available aquatic funnel traps (i.e., minnow traps) generally yielded biased assessments of population demography, but that the nature and magnitude of these biases varied p...
37 citations
TL;DR: It is confirmed that supra-seasonal drought differentially affects semi-aquatic snake species across landscape scales, and species lacking adaptations that make them resistant or resilient to drought may become locally extirpated if climate change projections are realized or landscapes are degraded or fragmented in ways that prevent drought recovery.
Abstract: Climate change is predicted to alter the frequency and intensity of precipitation events, placing stress on freshwater aquatic ecosystems and their associated wildlife. Thus, understanding interspecific variation in drought sensitivity and the repeatability of those responses across heterogeneous landscapes is critical. Semi-aquatic snakes serve important roles within aquatic ecosystems and several species are threatened. Yet, little is known about the effects of drought on semi-aquatic snake populations or assemblages. We systematically trapped 20 isolated wetlands in South Carolina before (2006) and after (2013) a multi-year supra-seasonal drought to determine drought-induced shifts in occupancy and detection for five semi-aquatic snake species. Our results confirm that supra-seasonal drought differentially affects semi-aquatic snake species across landscape scales. Specifically, site occupancy decreased dramatically following drought for banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata) (0.95 to 0.69) and Florida green watersnakes (Nerodia floridana) (0.32 to 0.05), but was relatively unchanged for black swamp snakes (Seminatrix pygaea), mudsnakes (Farancia abacura) and glossy crayfish snakes (Regina rigida). Species lacking adaptations that make them resistant or resilient to drought may become locally extirpated if climate change projections are realized or landscapes are degraded or fragmented in ways that prevent drought recovery.
18 citations
17 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2010 | 1 |