Project description:Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to project the potential distribution of introduced species outside their native range. Such studies rarely explicitly evaluate potential conflicts with native species should the range of introduced species expand. Two snake species native to eastern North America, Nerodia fasciata and Nerodia sipedon, have been introduced to California where they represent a new stressor to declining native amphibians, fish, and reptiles. To project the potential distributions of these non-native watersnakes in western North America, we built ensemble SDMs using MaxEnt, Boosted Regression Trees, and Random Forests and habitat and climatic variables. We then compared the overlap between the projected distribution of invasive watersnakes and the distributions of imperiled native amphibians, fish, and reptiles that can serve as prey or competitors for the invaders, to estimate the risk to native species posed by non-native watersnakes. Large areas of western North America were projected to be climatically suitable for both species of Nerodia according to our ensemble SDMs, including much of central California. The potential distributions of both N. fasciata and N. sipedon overlap extensively with the federally threatened Giant Gartersnake, Thamnophis gigas, which inhabits a similar ecological niche. N. fasciata also poses risk to the federally threatened California Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma californiense, whereas N. sipedon poses risk to some amphibians of conservation concern, including the Foothill Yellow-legged Frog, Rana boylii. We conclude that non-native watersnakes in California can likely inhabit ranges of several native species of conservation concern that are expected to suffer as prey or competing species for these invaders. Action should be taken now to eradicate or control these invasions before detrimental impacts on native species are widespread. Our methods can be applied broadly to quantify the risk posed by incipient invasions to native biodiversity.
Project description:The ascomycete fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo) is the causative agent of ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease), which has been detected globally. However, surveillance efforts in the central U.S., specifically Texas, have been minimal. The threatened and rare Brazos water snake (Nerodia harteri harteri) is one of the most range restricted snakes in the U.S. and is sympatric with two wide-ranging congeners, Nerodia erythrogaster transversa and Nerodia rhombifer, in north central Texas; thus, providing an opportunity to test comparative host-pathogen associations in this system. To accomplish this, we surveyed a portion of the Brazos river drainage (~ 400 river km) over 29 months and tested 150 Nerodia individuals for the presence of Oo via quantitative PCR and recorded any potential signs of Oo infection. We found Oo was distributed across the entire range of N. h. harteri, Oo prevalence was 46% overall, and there was a significant association between Oo occurrence and signs of infection in our sample. Models indicated adults had a higher probability of Oo infection than juveniles and subadults, and adult N. h. harteri had a higher probability of infection than adult N. rhombifer but not higher than adult N. e. transversa. High Oo prevalence estimates (94.4%) in adult N. h. harteri has implications for their conservation and management owing to their patchy distribution, comparatively low genetic diversity, and threats from anthropogenic habitat modification.