Investigating movement behavior of invasive Burmese pythons on a shy-bold continuum using individual-based modeling
Authored by Patrick A Zollner, Shannon E Pittman, Holly E Mutascio
Date Published: 2017
DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2017.02.004
Sponsors:
United States National Science Foundation (NSF)
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Abstract
Burmese pythons are established in the Everglades and are expanding
their population in Florida to more urbanized and fragmented habitats.
Understanding movement and dispersal behavior contributes to our
knowledge of how landscape factors influence the persistence of pythons
in Florida's habitat. Our goal was to examine personality-dependent
dispersal in juvenile Burmese pythons by creating behavioral scenarios
of risk-taking behavior on a shy-bold continuum using an
individual-based model. We observed that a behaviorally plastic strategy
best resembled empirically derived patterns of the Burmese python's
expansion from the Everglades into the increasingly urbanized landscapes
of Homestead and Miami, Florida. This result is consistent with the
notion that animal personalities can be flexible in different situations
and that animals must make decisions based on trade-offs while
dispersing. (C) 2017 Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e
Conservacao. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.
Tags
Landscape
Individual-based modeling
Strategies
Trait
Plasticity
Range expansion
Personalities
Burmese pythons
Invasion biology
Personality-dependent dispersal
Shy-bold continuum
Pumpkinseed sunfish
Dispersal tendency