Greater Sage-Grouse Chick Killed by Great Basin Gopher Snake

Despite extensive range overlap between Great Basin gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer deserticola) and Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) within sagebrush ecosystems, there are few documented predator–prey interactions between these species. Although gopher snakes have been observed pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Western North American naturalist 2020-04, Vol.80 (1), p.70-73
Main Authors: McIntire, Sarah E., Rabon, Jordan C., Coates, Peter S., Ricca, Mark A., Johnson, Tracey N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Centrocercus urophasianus
Ecosystems
Eggs
Foothills
Grouse
Mountains
Nests
Pituophis catenifer deserticola
Predation
Snakes
Wildfowl
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Summary:Despite extensive range overlap between Great Basin gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer deserticola) and Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) within sagebrush ecosystems, there are few documented predator–prey interactions between these species. Although gopher snakes have been observed preying on nests of other prairie grouse, studies that used video-monitoring at sage-grouse nests found gopher snakes unable to consume sage-grouse eggs and reported just a single instance of a snake consuming a
ISSN:1527-0904
1944-8341
DOI:10.3398/064.080.0107