The use of ecological niche modeling to infer potential risk areas of snakebite in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many authors have claimed that snakebite risk is associated with human population density, human activities, and snake behavior. Here we analyzed whether environmental suitability of vipers can be used as an indicator of snakebite risk. We tested several hypotheses to explain snakebite incidence, through the construction of models incorporating both environmental suitability and socioeconomic variables in Veracruz, Mexico.

Methodology/principal findings

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) was used to estimate potential geographic and ecological distributions of nine viper species' in Veracruz. We calculated the distance to the species' niche centroid (DNC); this distance may be associated with a prediction of abundance. We found significant inverse relationships betwe

SUBMITTER: Yanez-Arenas C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4071012 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature