Posted by:
FR
at Tue Sep 24 12:35:45 2013 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by FR ]
Since you mentioned me, I will try and help.
The first real lesson with field work is, you cannot make assumptions or go by prejudices. Yes, all things are "possible" that's with about everything. What you are looking for are the "probable".
finding neonates two months from now, finding the nest, those are what will lead to answers. Even finding newly hatched neonates in the early spring will help.
With snakes, its known there are some species that produce both in the spring and fall, subocs for instance.
For years, I watched pyro rookeries, and observed newly hatched neonates coming out up until late Nov.
With our montane rattlesnake field studies, we commonly observed gravid rattlesnakes out and active all winter(C.willarid and C.lepidus) Including when there was snow on the ground and at 6000ft of elevation and up.
So of course its possible, but what is interesting would be, if you can find evidence that makes this probable, then evidence that proves it out.
Doing field work is NOT ABOUT KNOWNING anything other then asking good questions. ITs about taking data(to report) and to not prejudice them. And that is VERY HARD to do.
So keep at it(the hard part) and keep looking for evidence. All evidence, not just what you think supports your theory. After gathering lots of data, then you can sit back and see if it makes sense. Best wishes and good luck.
P.s. these animals are not windup toys, they are behavioral and doing such things as putting radios in that, does not reveal good data, it only reveals data after a radio is installed in their body and are being chased from place to place. hahahahahahah. Time lapse cameras are the tool of now and the future. (hands off) look into this area.
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