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13 | Dr. Charles Peterson – Snakes of the Intermountain West episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 20, 2020 · 1H 28M

13 | Dr. Charles Peterson – Snakes of the Intermountain West

from Snake Talk · host Dr. Charles Peterson, Dr. Chris Jenkins

Dr. Peterson is an accomplished Snake Ecologist that has dedicated his career to studying the ecology of snakes and applying that knowledge to their conservation. Drs. Jenkins and Peterson discuss the path Chuck took to becoming a herpetologist. They also discuss the diversity of snakes in the Intermountain West and what Chuck has learned from decades of research, including an in depth discussion of one of the biggest long-term datasets ever collected on snakes, specifically a data set on Great Basin Rattlesnakes from Southeast Idaho. The link for the Idaho Amphibian and Reptile iNaturalist Project is: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/idaho-amphibian-and-reptile-inaturalist-project Flickr Photo Albums links: Idaho Reptiles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petechar/albums/72157625821042969 Snakes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petechar/albums/72157689924852796 ISU Herpetology Laboratory Publications on Intermountain West Snakes 1989-2019 1. Koch, E.D. and C.R. Peterson. 1989. A preliminary survey of the distribution of amphibians and reptiles of Yellowstone National Park. In: Rare, sensitive and threatened species of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, T.W. Clark, D.H. Harvey, R.D. Dorn, D.C. Genter, and C. Groves (eds.), Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative , Montana Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, and Mountain West Environmental Services. 2. Peterson, C.R. and M.E. Dorcas. 1992. The use of automated data acquisition techniques in monitoring amphibian and reptile populations. Pp 369-378 In: Wildlife 2001: Populations. D.R. McCullough and R.H. Barrett, (eds.). Elsevier Applied Science, London. 3. Peterson, C.R., A.R Gibson, and M.E. Dorcas. 1993. Snake thermal ecology: the causes and consequences of body temperature variation. Pp. 241-314 in Snakes: Ecology and Behavior (R.A. Seigel and J.T. Collins, eds.). McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New York, N.Y. 4. Storm, R.M., W.P. Leonard, H.A. Brown, R.B. Bury, D.M. Darda, L.V. Diller, and C.R. Peterson. 1995. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 176 pp. 5. Koch, E.D. and C.R. Peterson. 1995. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah. 188 pp. 6. Beck, J.M. and C.R. Peterson. 1995. Movements and habitat selection of the Longnose Snake (Rheinocheilus lecontei) in southwestern Idaho. Idaho Bureau of Land Management. Technical Bulletin No. 95-18. 7. Corn, P.S. and C.R. Peterson. 1996. Prairie Legacies - Amphibians and Reptiles. Pp. 125-134 In: Prairie Conservation: Preserving North America’s Most Endangered Ecosystem. F.B. Samson and F.L. Knopf (editors). Island Press 8. Dorcas, M.E. and C.R. Peterson. 1997. Head-body temperature differences in free-ranging rubber boas. J. Herp. 31(1): 87-93. 9. Dorcas, M.E., C.R. Peterson, and M.T. Flint. 1997. The thermal biology of digestion in rubber boas (Charina bottae): physiology, behavior, and environmental constraints. Physiological Zoology 70(3):292-300. 10. Dorcas, M.E. and C.R. Peterson. 1998. Daily body temperature variation in free-ranging rubber boas. Herpetologica.54(1):88-103. 11. Cobb, V.A. and C.R. Peterson. 1999. Natural History Notes: Mortality – Great Basin Rattlesnake. Herpetological Review. 30(1): 45-46. 12. Peterson, C.R, S.R Burton, D.S. Pilliod, J.R Lee, J.O. Cossel Jr, and R.L Llewellyn. 2001. Assessing the accuracy of Gap Analysis predicted distributions of Idaho amphibians and reptiles. Gap Analysis Bulletin 10: 42-49. 13. Vander Haegen, W. M., S. M. McCorquodale, C. R. Peterson, G. A. Green, and E. Yensen. 2001. Wildlife communities of eastside shrubland and grassland habitats. In, D. H. Johnson and T. A. O'Neil, Editors. Wildlife habitats and species associations in Oregon and Washington. University of Oregon Press, Corvallis, Oregon. 14. Scott, J.M., C.R. Peterson, J.W. Karl, E. Strand, L.K. Svancara, and N.M. Wright. 2002. A Gap Analysis of Idaho: Final Report. Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Moscow, ID. 15. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2008. Testing the coadaptation hypothesis: the thermal physiology and thermoregulatory behavior of rubber boas (Charina bottae). In: R. Henderson, R. Powell, G. Schuett, and M. Douglass (eds.), Biology of the Boas and Pythons. Eagle Mountain Publishing, LC, Eagle Moutain, UT. 16. Jenkins, C.L., C.R. Peterson, and J.O. Cossel, Jr. 2008. Sagebrush Steppe / Desert Shrublands. In: Pilliod, D.S., Wind, E., eds., 2008, Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Northwestern United States and Western Canada: Technical Publication HMG-4, Birmingham, AL, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, 139 pp. 17. Jenkins, C.L. and C.R. Peterson. 2009. A Trophic-Based Approach to the Conservation Biology of Rattlesnakes: Linking Landscape Disturbance to Rattlesnake Populations. Pp. 265-274 in W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell, and S. P. Bush (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, California. 18. Cobb, V.A. and C.R. Peterson. 2009. Thermal Ecology of Hibernation in a Population of Great Basin Rattlesnakes, Crotalus oreganus lutosus. Pp. 291-302 in W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell, and S. P. Bush (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, California. 19. Jenkins, C.L., C.R. Peterson, and B.A. Kingsbury. 2009. Modeling Snake Distribution and Habitat. Pp. 123-148 in S.J. Mullin and R.A. Seigel. Snakes: Ecology and Conservation. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca , New York. 20. Bosworth, W. and C.R. Peterson. Idaho. 2009. In: Olson, D.H. (coord. ed.), Herpetological conservation in northwestern North America. Northwestern Naturalist 90: 61–96. 21. Jenkins, C.L., C. R. Peterson, S. C. Doering, and V. A. Cobb. 2009. Microgeographic variation in reproductive characteristics among Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) populations. Copeia 2009, (4): 774–780. 22. C. R. Peterson and J.R. Lee. 2012. Using Geographical Information Systems to design reptile surveys. Pp. 34-41 In: M. Foster, R. McDiarmid, C. Guyer, J.W. Gibbons, and N. Chernoff. (eds.). Reptile Biodiversity: Standard Methods for Inventory and Monitoring. University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA. 23. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2012. Automated data acquisition. Pp. 61-68 In:. M. Foster, R. McDiarmid, C. Guyer, J.W. Gibbons, and N. Chernoff. (eds.). Reptile Biodiversity: Standard Methods for Inventory and Monitoring. University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA. 24. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2013. Automated data acquisition. In: G. Graeter and J. Gibbons (eds.), Monitoring Methods for Amphibians and Reptiles. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation - special publication. 25. Jochimsen, Denim, C.R. Peterson, and L.J. Harmon, 2014. Influence of ecology and landscape on snake road mortality in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. Animal Conservation, 17(6): 583-592. 26. Bauder, J.D. H. Akenson, and C.R. Peterson. 2015. Movement Patterns of Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus v. viridis) across a Mountainous Landscape in a Designated Wilderness Area. Journal of Herpetology, 49(3): 377-387. 27. Bauder, J.M., H. Akenson, and C.R. Peterson. 2017. Factors influencing the movement patterns of Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus v. viridis) across a mountainous landscape in a designated Wilderness Area. Pp. 154-167 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 28. Jenkins, C.L., J.M. Bauder, and C.R. Peterson. 2017. Population level consequences of microgeographic variation in Great Basin Rattlesnake reproduction. Pp. 143-153 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 29. Spear, S.F., J.M. Parker, C.R. Peterson, C.L. Jenkins, and L.P. Waits. 2017. Modeling the effect of roads on habitat area and connectivity of midget faded rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus concolor) across Southwest Wyoming. Pp. 22-33 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 30. Parsons, S.B., C.R. Peterson, C.L. Jenkins, and M.D. Matocq. 2019. Gene flow and habitat connectivity in a native rattlesnake population on the Snake River Plain. Western North American Naturalist 79(3):378-393. Connect with Chris on Facebook, Instagram or at The Orianne Society. Shop Snake Talk merch. If you like what you’ve been hearing on this podcast, consider supporting The Orianne Society today.

What this episode covers

Dr. Peterson is an accomplished Snake Ecologist that has dedicated his career to studying the ecology of snakes and applying that knowledge to their conservation. Drs. Jenkins and Peterson discuss the path Chuck took to becoming a herpetologist. They also discuss the diversity of snakes in the Intermountain West and what Chuck has learned from decades of research, including an in depth discussion of one of the biggest long-term datasets ever collected on snakes, specifically a data set on Great Basin Rattlesnakes from Southeast Idaho. The link for the Idaho Amphibian and Reptile iNaturalist Project is: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/idaho-amphibian-and-reptile-inaturalist-project Flickr Photo Albums links: Idaho Reptiles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petechar/albums/72157625821042969 Snakes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/petechar/albums/72157689924852796 ISU Herpetology Laboratory Publications on Intermountain West Snakes 1989-2019 1. Koch, E.D. and C.R. Peterson. 1989. A preliminary survey of the distribution of amphibians and reptiles of Yellowstone National Park. In: Rare, sensitive and threatened species of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, T.W. Clark, D.H. Harvey, R.D. Dorn, D.C. Genter, and C. Groves (eds.), Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative , Montana Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, and Mountain West Environmental Services. 2. Peterson, C.R. and M.E. Dorcas. 1992. The use of automated data acquisition techniques in monitoring amphibian and reptile populations. Pp 369-378 In: Wildlife 2001: Populations. D.R. McCullough and R.H. Barrett, (eds.). Elsevier Applied Science, London. 3. Peterson, C.R., A.R Gibson, and M.E. Dorcas. 1993. Snake thermal ecology: the causes and consequences of body temperature variation. Pp. 241-314 in Snakes: Ecology and Behavior (R.A. Seigel and J.T. Collins, eds.). McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New York, N.Y. 4. Storm, R.M., W.P. Leonard, H.A. Brown, R.B. Bury, D.M. Darda, L.V. Diller, and C.R. Peterson. 1995. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 176 pp. 5. Koch, E.D. and C.R. Peterson. 1995. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah. 188 pp. 6. Beck, J.M. and C.R. Peterson. 1995. Movements and habitat selection of the Longnose Snake (Rheinocheilus lecontei) in southwestern Idaho. Idaho Bureau of Land Management. Technical Bulletin No. 95-18. 7. Corn, P.S. and C.R. Peterson. 1996. Prairie Legacies - Amphibians and Reptiles. Pp. 125-134 In: Prairie Conservation: Preserving North America’s Most Endangered Ecosystem. F.B. Samson and F.L. Knopf (editors). Island Press 8. Dorcas, M.E. and C.R. Peterson. 1997. Head-body temperature differences in free-ranging rubber boas. J. Herp. 31(1): 87-93. 9. Dorcas, M.E., C.R. Peterson, and M.T. Flint. 1997. The thermal biology of digestion in rubber boas (Charina bottae): physiology, behavior, and environmental constraints. Physiological Zoology 70(3):292-300. 10. Dorcas, M.E. and C.R. Peterson. 1998. Daily body temperature variation in free-ranging rubber boas. Herpetologica.54(1):88-103. 11. Cobb, V.A. and C.R. Peterson. 1999. Natural History Notes: Mortality – Great Basin Rattlesnake. Herpetological Review. 30(1): 45-46. 12. Peterson, C.R, S.R Burton, D.S. Pilliod, J.R Lee, J.O. Cossel Jr, and R.L Llewellyn. 2001. Assessing the accuracy of Gap Analysis predicted distributions of Idaho amphibians and reptiles. Gap Analysis Bulletin 10: 42-49. 13. Vander Haegen, W. M., S. M. McCorquodale, C. R. Peterson, G. A. Green, and E. Yensen. 2001. Wildlife communities of eastside shrubland and grassland habitats. In, D. H. Johnson and T. A. O'Neil, Editors. Wildlife habitats and species associations in Oregon and Washington. University of Oregon Press, Corvallis, Oregon. 14. Scott, J.M., C.R. Peterson, J.W. Karl, E. Strand, L.K. Svancara, and N.M. Wright. 2002. A Gap Analysis of Idaho: Final Report. Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Moscow, ID. 15. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2008. Testing the coadaptation hypothesis: the thermal physiology and thermoregulatory behavior of rubber boas (Charina bottae). In: R. Henderson, R. Powell, G. Schuett, and M. Douglass (eds.), Biology of the Boas and Pythons. Eagle Mountain Publishing, LC, Eagle Moutain, UT. 16. Jenkins, C.L., C.R. Peterson, and J.O. Cossel, Jr. 2008. Sagebrush Steppe / Desert Shrublands. In: Pilliod, D.S., Wind, E., eds., 2008, Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Northwestern United States and Western Canada: Technical Publication HMG-4, Birmingham, AL, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, 139 pp. 17. Jenkins, C.L. and C.R. Peterson. 2009. A Trophic-Based Approach to the Conservation Biology of Rattlesnakes: Linking Landscape Disturbance to Rattlesnake Populations. Pp. 265-274 in W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell, and S. P. Bush (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, California. 18. Cobb, V.A. and C.R. Peterson. 2009. Thermal Ecology of Hibernation in a Population of Great Basin Rattlesnakes, Crotalus oreganus lutosus. Pp. 291-302 in W. K. Hayes, K. R. Beaman, M. D. Cardwell, and S. P. Bush (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, Loma Linda, California. 19. Jenkins, C.L., C.R. Peterson, and B.A. Kingsbury. 2009. Modeling Snake Distribution and Habitat. Pp. 123-148 in S.J. Mullin and R.A. Seigel. Snakes: Ecology and Conservation. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca , New York. 20. Bosworth, W. and C.R. Peterson. Idaho. 2009. In: Olson, D.H. (coord. ed.), Herpetological conservation in northwestern North America. Northwestern Naturalist 90: 61–96. 21. Jenkins, C.L., C. R. Peterson, S. C. Doering, and V. A. Cobb. 2009. Microgeographic variation in reproductive characteristics among Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) populations. Copeia 2009, (4): 774–780. 22. C. R. Peterson and J.R. Lee. 2012. Using Geographical Information Systems to design reptile surveys. Pp. 34-41 In: M. Foster, R. McDiarmid, C. Guyer, J.W. Gibbons, and N. Chernoff. (eds.). Reptile Biodiversity: Standard Methods for Inventory and Monitoring. University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA. 23. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2012. Automated data acquisition. Pp. 61-68 In:. M. Foster, R. McDiarmid, C. Guyer, J.W. Gibbons, and N. Chernoff. (eds.). Reptile Biodiversity: Standard Methods for Inventory and Monitoring. University of California Press, Los Angeles, CA. 24. Dorcas, M. E. and C. R. Peterson. 2013. Automated data acquisition. In: G. Graeter and J. Gibbons (eds.), Monitoring Methods for Amphibians and Reptiles. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation - special publication. 25. Jochimsen, Denim, C.R. Peterson, and L.J. Harmon, 2014. Influence of ecology and landscape on snake road mortality in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. Animal Conservation, 17(6): 583-592. 26. Bauder, J.D. H. Akenson, and C.R. Peterson. 2015. Movement Patterns of Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus v. viridis) across a Mountainous Landscape in a Designated Wilderness Area. Journal of Herpetology, 49(3): 377-387. 27. Bauder, J.M., H. Akenson, and C.R. Peterson. 2017. Factors influencing the movement patterns of Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus v. viridis) across a mountainous landscape in a designated Wilderness Area. Pp. 154-167 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 28. Jenkins, C.L., J.M. Bauder, and C.R. Peterson. 2017. Population level consequences of microgeographic variation in Great Basin Rattlesnake reproduction. Pp. 143-153 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 29. Spear, S.F., J.M. Parker, C.R. Peterson, C.L. Jenkins, and L.P. Waits. 2017. Modeling the effect of roads on habitat area and connectivity of midget faded rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus concolor) across Southwest Wyoming. Pp. 22-33 in Dreslik,M.J., S.J. Beaupre, and S.P. Mackessy (eds.), The Biology of Rattlesnakes II, Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico. 30. Parsons, S.B., C.R. Peterson, C.L. Jenkins, and M.D. Matocq. 2019. Gene flow and habitat connectivity in a native rattlesnake population on the Snake River Plain. Western North American Naturalist 79(3):378-393.

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This episode is 1 hour and 28 minutes long.

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This episode was published on November 20, 2020.

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Dr. Peterson is an accomplished Snake Ecologist that has dedicated his career to studying the ecology of snakes and applying that knowledge to their conservation. Drs. Jenkins and Peterson discuss the path Chuck took to becoming a herpetologist....

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