The British Herpetological Society

The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.

 ISSN 0268-0130

2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.


pdf 04. Monsoon does matter: annual activity patterns in a snake assemblage from Bangladesh

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pp. 203-208
Authors: Rahman, Shahriar Caesar; Rashid, S.M.A.; Das, Kanai; Jenkins, Chris & Luiselli, Luca

Abstract: During the last decades annual activity patterns of temperate snake species have received considerably more attention than those of tropical snakes. In this study, we document the monthly activity patterns of a species-rich assemblage of snakes from a tropical forest-plantation mosaic in Bangladesh based on specimens collected by a systematic road kill survey for 14 months, and relate them to the climatic characteristics of the study area with special reference to monsoon regimes. We recorded 503 Dead-On-Road (DOR) snakes, belonging to 30 different species, with a mean DOR/km rate of 0.247. Overall, snake activity was uneven throughout the year, being particularly intense during July, August and October, and significantly reduced in December, January and February. Five out of nine species with considerably robust sample sizes showed consistently uneven monthly activity patterns. Monsoon seasonality deeply influenced the phenology of several Asian-tropical snakes, with some species being active especially at the middle or end of the monsoon period while others are active throughout the monsoon period.

Keywords: ASIA, SEASONAL ACTIVITY, ROAD-KILLS, MONSOON, SERPENTES, BANGLADESH

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IMPORTANT NOTE - JUNE 2020

Please note that as from Volume 31 Number 1 (January 2021) on, the Herpetological Journal will be available as an online publication only - the last print edition will be Volume 30 Number 4.   

Aligning with this change, it is now no longer possible to purchase a subscription that includes a print copy of the HJ.  All members who have existing HJ print subscriptions that remain active as at end June 2020 will receive the full four 2020 print editions.  New subscribers or renewals after this time will only have option to subscribe to the online only subscription package.  Subscription pricing has been amended to reflect the content changes.

 

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