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Article Dans Une Revue Scientific Reports Année : 2021

Population dynamics of the sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae)

Richard Shine
Gregory Brown

Résumé

Abstract For sea snakes as for many types of animals, long-term studies on population biology are rare and hence, we do not understand the degree to which annual variation in population sizes is driven by density-dependent regulation versus by stochastic abiotic factors. We monitored three populations of turtle-headed sea snakes ( Emydocephalus annulatus ) in New Caledonia over an 18-year period. Annual recruitment (% change in numbers) showed negative density-dependence: that is, recruitment increased when population densities were low, and decreased when densities were high. Windy weather during winter increased survival of neonates, perhaps by shielding them from predation; but those same weather conditions reduced body condition and the reproductive output of adult snakes. The role for density-dependence in annual dynamics of these populations is consistent with the slow, K-selected life-history attributes of the species; and the influence of weather conditions on reproductive output suggests that females adjust their allocation to reproduction based on food availability during vitellogenesis.

Dates et versions

hal-03462672 , version 1 (02-12-2021)

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Richard Shine, Gregory Brown, Claire Goiran. Population dynamics of the sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae). Scientific Reports, 2021, 11 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41598-021-00245-2⟩. ⟨hal-03462672⟩
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