The spatial ecology of Mojave rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus), prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), and their hybrids in southwestern New Mexico

Abstract

Hybridization between species provides unique opportunities to understand evolutionary processes that are linked to reproductive isolation and, ultimately, speciation. However, the extrinsic factors that limit hybridization are poorly understood for most animal systems. Although the spatial ecology of individuals in natural habitats is fundamental to shaping reproductive success and survival, analyses of the spatial ecology of hybrids and their parental groups are rarely reported. Here, we used radiotelemetry to monitor wild rattlesnakes across an interspecific hybrid zone (Crotalus scutulatus and Crotalus viridis) and measured movement parameters and space use (utilization distributions) of individuals to evaluate the hypothesis that hybridization resulted in transgressive or atypical movement patterns. Unexpectedly, of the spatial metrics we investigated, we found that hybrids were very similar to parental individuals. Nonetheless, hybrids did show increased patchiness of core utilization distributions, but this result is likely to be driven by increased habitat patchiness in the hybrid zone. Overall, we did not find evidence for overt extrinsic barriers to hybridization associated with spatial ecology; thus, we suggest that the close evolutionary history between the two parental species and their ecological and behavioural similarities are likely to increase the probability of hybridization events in this unique region of New Mexico.