Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals
Abstract The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8817 |
| _version_ | 1797924611821666304 |
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| author | Christopher Lowe Gunnar Keppel Kalisi Waqa Stefan Peters Robert N. Fisher Annette Scanlon Tamara Osborne‐Naikatini Nunia Thomas‐Moko |
| author_facet | Christopher Lowe Gunnar Keppel Kalisi Waqa Stefan Peters Robert N. Fisher Annette Scanlon Tamara Osborne‐Naikatini Nunia Thomas‐Moko |
| author_sort | Christopher Lowe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their skin, digest prey, and breed. Using concurrent microclimate measurements and behavior surveys, we show that a small, topographically flat atoll in Fiji with coastal forest provides many microhabitats that relate to the behaviors of Yellow Lipped Sea Kraits, Laticauda colubrina. Microclimates were significantly related to canopy cover, leaf litter depth, and distance from the high‐water mark (HWM). Sea kraits were almost exclusively observed in coastal forest within 30 m of the HWM. Sloughing of skins only occurred within crevices of mature or dying trees. Resting L. colubrina were significantly more likely to occur at locations with higher mean diurnal temperatures, lower leaf litter depths, and shorter distances from the HWM. On Leleuvia, behavior of L. colubrina therefore relates to environmental heterogeneity created by old‐growth coastal forests, particularly canopy cover and crevices in mature and dead tree trunks. The importance of healthy coastal habitats, both terrestrial and marine, for L. colubrina suggests it could be a good flagship species for advocating integrated land‐sea management. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of coastal forests and topographically flat atolls for biodiversity conservation. Effective conservation management of amphibious species that utilize land‐ and seascapes is therefore likely to require a holistic approach that incorporates connectivity among ecosystems and environmental heterogeneity at all relevant scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:03:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed900c8e34a34b41aad3b7f7d4655d1a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:03:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed900c8e34a34b41aad3b7f7d4655d1a2023-02-15T09:01:28ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582022-04-01124n/an/a10.1002/ece3.8817Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animalsChristopher Lowe0Gunnar Keppel1Kalisi Waqa2Stefan Peters3Robert N. Fisher4Annette Scanlon5Tamara Osborne‐Naikatini6Nunia Thomas‐Moko7UniSA STEM University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia AustraliaUniSA STEM University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia AustraliaNatureFiji‐MareqetiViti Suva FijiUniSA STEM University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia AustraliaNatureFiji‐MareqetiViti Suva FijiUniSA STEM University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia AustraliaFaculty of Science, Technology and Environment School of Biological and Chemical Sciences The University of the South Pacific Suva FijiNatureFiji‐MareqetiViti Suva FijiAbstract The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their skin, digest prey, and breed. Using concurrent microclimate measurements and behavior surveys, we show that a small, topographically flat atoll in Fiji with coastal forest provides many microhabitats that relate to the behaviors of Yellow Lipped Sea Kraits, Laticauda colubrina. Microclimates were significantly related to canopy cover, leaf litter depth, and distance from the high‐water mark (HWM). Sea kraits were almost exclusively observed in coastal forest within 30 m of the HWM. Sloughing of skins only occurred within crevices of mature or dying trees. Resting L. colubrina were significantly more likely to occur at locations with higher mean diurnal temperatures, lower leaf litter depths, and shorter distances from the HWM. On Leleuvia, behavior of L. colubrina therefore relates to environmental heterogeneity created by old‐growth coastal forests, particularly canopy cover and crevices in mature and dead tree trunks. The importance of healthy coastal habitats, both terrestrial and marine, for L. colubrina suggests it could be a good flagship species for advocating integrated land‐sea management. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of coastal forests and topographically flat atolls for biodiversity conservation. Effective conservation management of amphibious species that utilize land‐ and seascapes is therefore likely to require a holistic approach that incorporates connectivity among ecosystems and environmental heterogeneity at all relevant scales.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8817atoll islandscoastal forestsfine‐scale environmental heterogeneitymicroclimatemicrohabitatssea krait conservation |
| spellingShingle | Christopher Lowe Gunnar Keppel Kalisi Waqa Stefan Peters Robert N. Fisher Annette Scanlon Tamara Osborne‐Naikatini Nunia Thomas‐Moko Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals Ecology and Evolution atoll islands coastal forests fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity microclimate microhabitats sea krait conservation |
| title | Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| title_full | Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| title_fullStr | Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| title_short | Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity in old‐growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| title_sort | fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine scale environmental heterogeneity in old growth coastal forest the importance of integrated land sea management for protecting amphibious animals |
| topic | atoll islands coastal forests fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity microclimate microhabitats sea krait conservation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8817 |
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