Citizen science reporting indicates geographic and phenotypic drivers of road use and mortality in a threatened rattlesnake.

ABSTRACT: Roads may influence the selection of phenotypic traits of wildlife. In particular, the likelihood of vehicle collisions with wildlife may vary depending on body coloration in contrast to the road, which may be exaggerated by cultural attitudes toward the species. The timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus is a threatened species that varies widely in coloration, and their color pattern could influence thermoregulatory use of roads and visibility to motorists. Moreover, better-camouflaged snakes may have higher road mortality in areas where environmental interest is lower and, perhaps, negative attitudes toward wildlife are more prevalent. We used citizen scientist observations of timber rattlesnakes from iNaturalist and categorized for each rattlesnake the surface they were on, its co

SUBMITTER: Rhodes C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10284056 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature