Natural history of South American snakes: an evolutionary approach

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to expand the knowledge about the natural history of neotropical snakes, under an evolutionary perspective. The project will focus on South American snakes and includes the following objectives: (1) recognize the use of habitat and substrate, (2) describe seasonal and daily activity patterns, (3) describe antipredatory repertoire, defensive behaviors (unknown for certain species), and evaluate the effectiveness of defensive tactics, (4) describe food habits and feeding behavior, (5) characterize fecundity and the reproductive cycle, and eventually describe aspects of reproductive behavior. In a more comprehensive overview the project aims to recognize patterns and trends in different groups of snakes as well as to trace the evolution of natural history traits in monophyletic lineages. The information will be obtained mainly through studies in the laboratory as well as in the field (by examining preserved specimens, using records of the Instituto Butantan, observing snakes in captivity or in nature, and carrying out field experiments). Fieldwork will be carried out at several localities on mainland and on islands from Southeastern Brazil. Collected snakes will improve the herpetological collection of Instituto Butantan since each specimen will be registered with detailed information and tissue samples. This project will be integrated with other research efforts to generate basic information for conservation. In addition to scientific papers the project will also produce products for dissemination, including magazines articles, children's book and information to be posted on websites. (AU)