{"title":"Sex- and age-related variations in seasonal and circadian activity of the Nose-horned Viper Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758)","authors":"Angel Dyugmedzhiev, B. Naumov, N. Tzankov","doi":"10.26496/bjz.2022.104","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The seasonal and circadian activity patterns of Vipera ammodytes were studied in five sites in western Bulgaria between 2014 and 2017. Vipera ammodytes was active from the end of February to the first half of November. In spring, adult males emerged a few weeks earlier than females and immature vipers. In autumn, the different sex/age groups started their hibernation approximately at the same time. We registered differences in the seasonal and circadian activities between the different sex/age groups. Adult males and subadults were mostly encountered during spring and autumn, and juveniles mainly in autumn, while the encounter rate of adult females was steady throughout the activity period. Females’ circadian activity varied according to their reproductive status. The observed patterns might be a result of the complex effects of many factors, such as climatic conditions, differences in the reproductive behaviour and the cost of reproduction between sexes, as well as the trade-off between precise thermoregulation, predation risk and foraging needs.","PeriodicalId":8750,"journal":{"name":"Belgian Journal of Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Belgian Journal of Zoology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.26496/bjz.2022.104","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The seasonal and circadian activity patterns of Vipera ammodytes were studied in five sites in western Bulgaria between 2014 and 2017. Vipera ammodytes was active from the end of February to the first half of November. In spring, adult males emerged a few weeks earlier than females and immature vipers. In autumn, the different sex/age groups started their hibernation approximately at the same time. We registered differences in the seasonal and circadian activities between the different sex/age groups. Adult males and subadults were mostly encountered during spring and autumn, and juveniles mainly in autumn, while the encounter rate of adult females was steady throughout the activity period. Females’ circadian activity varied according to their reproductive status. The observed patterns might be a result of the complex effects of many factors, such as climatic conditions, differences in the reproductive behaviour and the cost of reproduction between sexes, as well as the trade-off between precise thermoregulation, predation risk and foraging needs.
期刊介绍：
The Belgian Journal of Zoology is an open access journal publishing high-quality research papers in English that are original, of broad interest and hypothesis-driven. Manuscripts on all aspects of zoology are considered, including anatomy, behaviour, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, genomics and physiology. Manuscripts on veterinary topics are outside of the journal’s scope. The Belgian Journal of Zoology also welcomes reviews, especially from complex or poorly understood research fields in zoology. The Belgian Journal of Zoology does no longer publish purely taxonomic papers. Surveys and reports on novel or invasive animal species for Belgium are considered only if sufficient new biological or biogeographic information is included.
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