Auburn Cottonmouth Ecology

This series of side projects are a collaborative effort among students associated with the Guyer Lab at Auburn University. Beginning in the Spring of 2001, we have been monitoring a local population of Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) with specific interests in:

Population Demography
Reproductive Ecology
Movement Patterns
Natural History
Maximum fat accumulation rates
Development of safer handling and transport devices for venomous snakes

While we are at an early stage of what we expect to be a long-term project, our data indicate some interesting preliminary findings. First, this population has a female biased sex ratio (approximately 1:4), a condition which, to our knowledge, is not common in other Cottonmouth populations. Secondly, we have found a number of unidentified tapeworm segments in fecal samples. This second finding has been reported for other populations of Cottonmouths.

Gravid female in ambush posture on floating log encountered on 7/25/01
This female gave birth to seven neonates on 8/21/01

Pair of snakes captured in late April 2001

Beaver swamp in early spring 2001

Snake processing in the Auburn University Paleo-Herp Museum

Adult female being released after processing

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Website maintained by S.Boback: bobacsm@auburn.edu