Who May Benefit from Climate Change? Rattlesnakes, Study Suggests
upstart writes:
Who may benefit from climate change? Rattlesnakes, study suggests:
Animals around the world have been feeling the negative effects of climate change, but there's one slithering creature that may be benefiting from it: rattlesnakes.
Rattlesnakes can be found in every state in the continental U.S., according to Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, but they are commonly found in the southwest. One of the most widely known snakes in the world, rattlesnakes are relatively reserved reptiles that avoid human confrontation, but when threatened, they often will curl into striking position and begin to rattle their signature tail before they give a venomous bite.
[...] If temperatures continue to warm, Crowell said that could mean hibernation ends earlier in the spring for rattlesnakes, and they could still be active late in the fall heading into winter.
"Basically just more time to grow and do rattlesnake things," she said.
[...] Luckily, Crowell said not to panic; more rattlesnake activity won't mean "a giant boom of millions of more rattlesnakes." Instead, they might just be noticed more often and won't drastically increase the annual number of bites.
Journal Reference:
Hayley L. Crowell, Katherine C. King, James M. Whelan, et al. Thermal ecology and baseline energetic requirements of a large-bodied ectotherm suggest resilience to climate change, Ecol Evol., 2022. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7649
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