RiparianRiparian Zone Retreat Zone Retreatand Population Studiesand Population Studies

Lenny HochLenny Hoch

H. Bio IIH. Bio II

Pd. 5Pd. 5

Niche of Cortalus horridus (Timber Rattlesnake)

• The Timber Rattlesnake is native to almost all of the Eastern States. Although they are commonly seen as west as Nebraska, as North as Minnesota, and as far South as Texas.

• The common habitat for the Timber Rattlesnake is in forested rocky hills in the Northern States and swampy uninhabited areas in the Southern states.

• The main source for food is small mammals such as field mice and rabbits or squirrels. They also have been known to eat birds.

• The most common time for hunting is dawn or dusk. The snake will sneak up on an animal and inject it with toxic venom from it’s fangs.

Birth Rate Factors Of The Timber Rattlesnake

• Mating occurs in the summer months, mostly late July to October.

• The process all together will take almost one year.– Mating occurs in late July to October

– Birth will then happen from August to late October

• Gestation Period of 4-5 months

• On average there are 4-20 offspring per litter

• The female will give birth every 3-5 years.

• Newly born snakes– Born with venom, fangs, small rattle sometimes called a button, and

virtually the same skin coloring as the mother.

– Stay around nest for 1-2 weeks until shedding skin

– Follow parents scent trail back to the nest for hibernation

Death Rate Factors For The Timber Rattlesnake

• Prey– Rabbits

– Squirrels

– Mice

– Birds

– Large Insects

• Predators– Bobcats

– Coyotes

– Fox

– Large Birds

• The average lifespan is 16-22 years, although 30 years in captivity is normal.

• Parasites-Snake Mites, small bloodsucking invertebrates -Ticks

Over-population will cause lack of prey which will increase the death rate of any nearby snake

Timber Rattlesnake Food Chain

Grass

Producer

Autotroph

Grasshopper

Primary Consumer

Herbivore

Timber Rattlesnake

Secondary Consumer

Carnivore

Coyote

Tertiary Consumer

Omnivore

Timber Rattlesnake Food Web

Producer

OmnivoreProducer

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

Herbivore

Herbivore

Carnivore

Producer

Carnivore

Timber Rattlesnake Population Sampling

• Males travel more therefore the more active snakes being tracked are larger.

• Size Sampling Techniques – Den/Nest Counting

– Imbedded Radio Chips

Stream Quality Data & AnalysisStream Quality Data & Analysis

0

5

10

15

20

No. oforganisms

Class I

Class II

Class III

• This stream would be considered healthy because it has a majority of Class I and Class II organisms and just a few Class III.

• Class Indicators – Extremely healthy stream would have

all Class I organisms and a very small number of Class II and no Class III.

– Healthy streams have some Class I with almost the same number of Class II and a few Class III organisms.

– An unhealthy stream would have a low to almost no Class I organisms with a few

• There are more organisms that are good for the Timber Rattlesnsake’s food chain.

• The food chain would collapse because of the loss of nurtients

Water Testing Data & AnalysisWater Testing Data & Analysis

• These factors have the possibility to destroy an ecosystem.

• There should be little to no phosphates in a steam. The oxygen should be high, around 8-12, and the ph should be between 6.5 and 7.5.

• My animal would not be able to live near any marsh or stream because it highly depends on insects for food.

• The temperature should be close to 55-70. And the turbidity should be very low or else the organisms will not be able to see or breathe.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Nitrate

Oxygen

pH Phosphates

StreamMarshMine

Soil Testing & AnalysisSoil Testing & Analysis

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

pH Potash

Phosphorus

Nitrogen

Riparian

School Site

• Nitrogen is essential to proper functioning of plant metabolism.

• Phosphorous is the most important nutrient in root formation, creating a good fibrous root system. Potash stimulates flowering, and is needed in photosynthesis to make sugars.

• Ph should be 4-8. The ideal ranges for Potash, potassium, and nitrogen are all trace to medium.

• Even the slightest change can screw up the entire ecosystem.

Positive and Negative Factors• They could ruin the timber rattlesnakes food chain. All of the insects the that the rattlesnake depends on could possibly die, causing the snake to starve and die.

•All of the plants could possibly die off which would starve the insects that the small mammals eat. Doing so would cause the Timber Rattlesnake to have to either move elsewhere or starve and die.

Conclusion

• I found out that one factor could potentially kill an entire ecosystem. This was also the most interesting thing that I found out.

•I would like to further investigate the “Global Warming”.

Works Cited

•Included at least three cited sources•Two sources cannot be websites!