TIMMERMAN: CROTALUSADAMANTEUS ON ORDWAY PRESERVE


FIGURE 3.-Movements of a male eastern diamondback rattlesnake (MI) at the Ordway Preserve, Putnam
Co., FL. R indicates point of capture and release. OF=old field. XH=xeric hammock. HP=high pine forest
(sandhill). MH=mesic hammock. SF=swamp forest. WP-wet prairie. LM=lake meadow. Bold lines denote
sand roads.



diamondback as a diurnal predator. I prefer to think of this rattlesnake as
holotemporal. This is a term originated by Means and used by Cook (1983) to
describe the activity patterns of the cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous) another
Florida crotalid. Although eastern diamondbacks eat diurnal prey, they also takes
nocturnal animals, such as wood rats and cotton mice. When located at night,
diamondbacks were always noted in the same hunting postures as they were during
daylight hours, indicating that they are ready to catch prey both day and night.
Because they move between ambush sites mostly during the daylight hours, I
suggest that they are more commonly nocturnal feeders.
 Theoretically, a predator relying on crypsis to capture crepuscular and
nocturnal prey must be in position long before it hopes to ambush its victim,
therefore it should change to a new location only during the time of day when these
prey would be less likely to move--during the morning hours. A predator that
feeds solely on active diurnal prey should change ambush positions more often at
night, before the next sunrise.