Cite this article as:
Neymark L. A. On the Ecology of the Desert Sand Boa Eryx milliaris (Reptilia, Boidae) in Kalmykia. Current Studies in Herpetology, 2020, vol. 20, iss. 1, pp. 43-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/1814-6090-2020-20-1-2-43-52
On the Ecology of the Desert Sand Boa Eryx milliaris (Reptilia, Boidae) in Kalmykia
The paper contains data on the inhabitation, abundance and temperature selectiveness of the desert sand boa in Kalmykia. Bioclimatic variables influencing its range are also analyzed by modeling with the Maxent software. Two models were used in our analysis, built on 19 standard bioclimatic variables and on a shortlist after the removal of correlated variables. The body temperature of the desert sand boa varied from 12 to 33°С. Its population level stays rather high in Kalmykia, up to two specimen per ha on sand hills of the Chernozemelskiy district. The sand boa range in Kalmykia has not changed much as compared with the data gathered by V. A. Kireyev and M. K. Zhdokova in the 1970s and 2000s, respectively. Taking into account changes in the semidesert biotope distribution, in particular, the significant reduction of the area of blown sands during this period, this could evidence a higher biotopical plasticity of the species as it was commonly thought and a stronger dependence of its distribution on climatic factors than on the amount of sand dunes. This hypothesis is confirmed by some desert sand boa occurrence in steppe regions which are several tens of kilometers far from the nearest sand dunes. According to the Maxent modeling, the best climatic conditions for this species are in the Laganskiy district and the southern part of the Chernozemelskiy disctrict of Kalmykia, which coincides with the areas mostly inhabited by sand boas. By the modeling results, the winter precipitation and the temperature of the warmest quarter of the year most strongly influenced its distribution.
Ananjeva N. B., Orlov N. L., Khalikov R. G., Darevsky I. S., Ryabov S. A., Barabanov A. V. Colored Atlas of the Reptiles of the North Eurasia (Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status). St. Petersburg, Zool. Institute of RAS Publ., 2004. 232 p. (in Russian).
Ananyeva N. B., Golynsky E. A. The Distribution of Paralaudakia lehmanni: Analysis in the Maxent Program. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2013, vol. 317, no. 4, pp. 426–437 (in Russian).
Bondarenko D. A., Chelintsev N. G. A Comparative Estimation of Different Methods of the Line Transect Census of Desert Reptiles. Bull. of Moscow Society of Naturalists. Biological Ser., 1996, vol. 101, iss. 3, pp. 26–35 (in Russian).
Dujsebayeva T. N. New Data on Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Aral Sea Basin and Surrounding Areas of Kazakhstan. Selevinia, 2004, pp. 49–56 (in Russian).
Zhdokova M. K. Ekologo-morfologicheskii analiz fauny amfibii i reptilii Kalmykii [Ecological and Morphological Analysis of Amphibian and Reptile fauna of Kalmykia]. Diss. Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Saratov, 2003. 284 p. (in Russian).
Zhdokova M. K., Shlyakhtin G. V. Melanism in Populations of Desert Sand Boa and Steppe Viper in Kalmykia. Voprosy biologii, ekologii, khimii i metodiki obucheniia, 2002, iss. 5, pp. 50 (in Russian).
Zhdokova M. K., Shlyakhtin G. V., Zavialov Y. V. Herpetofauna of Kalmykia: Species Composition, Relative Abundance, Intercentenery Dynamics of Distribution. Povolzhskiy J. of Ecology, 2002, iss. 2, pp. 158–162 (in Russian).
Kireev V. A. Zemnovodnye i presmykaiushchiesia [Amphibians and Reptiles]. Elista, Kalmytskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo, 1983. 112 p. (in Russian).
Litvinov N. A. Body Temperature and Microclimatic Conditions of Dwelling of Reptiles of the Volga Basin. Zoologicheskii zhurnal, 2008, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 62–74 (In Russian).
Litvinov N. A., Ganshchuk S. V. Thermobiology of the Common (Vipera berus, Reptilia, Serpentes) Viper in the Volga Basin. Izvestia of Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2007, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 950–957 (in Russian).
Neronov V. V. Dinamika rastitel'nosti i naseleniia gryzunov na iuge Kalmykii v izmeniaiushchikhsia usloviiakh sredy [Flora and Rodents Population Dynamics in Conditions of Environment Changes in Southern Kalmykia]. Diss. Cand. Sci. (Biol.). Moscow, 2002. 244 p (in Russian).
Pestov M. V., Sarayev F. A., Ageyev V. S. New Reptile Findings in the Northeastern Precaspian Lowland (Republic of Kazakhstan). Current Studies in Herpetology, 2011, vol. iss. 3–4, pp. 192–195 (in Russian).
Tuniev B. S., Orlov N. L., Anan'eva N. B., Agasyan A. L. Snakes of the Сaucasus: Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation. Moscow, KMK Scientific Press Ltd., 2009. 223 p (in Russian).
Sarayev F. A., Pestov M. V.On the Cadaster of the Reptiles of Northern and North Eastern Caspian Sea Region. In: Herpetological Researches in Kazakhstan and Adjacent Countries. Almaty, ASBK–SOPK, 2010, pp. 172–191 (in Russian).
Chelintsev N. G. Mathematical Basis of Reptiles Route Census. Bull. of Moscow Society of Naturalists. Biological Ser., 1996, vol. 101, iss. 2, pp. 38–48 (in Russian).
Cherlin V. A., Muzychenko E. V. Using Burrows in Thermoregulation of Reptiles. Prikladnaia etologiia: materialy III Vsesoiuznoi konferentsii po povedeniiu zhivotnykh [Applied Ethology: Proceedings of the III All Union Conference of Animals Behavior]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1983, vol. 3, pp. 172–174 (in Russian).
Buckley L. B., Hurlbert A. H., Jetz W. 2012. Broadscale Ecological Implications of Ectothermy and Endothermy in Changing Environments. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2012, vol. 21, iss. 9, pp. 873–885.
Climate Data for Cities Worldwide. 2018. Available at: http://www.climate-data.org (accessed 19 November 2018).
Hijmans R. J., Cameron S., Parra J. WorldClim, Version 2.0. Berkeley, University of California, 2018. Available at: http://www.worldclim.org (accessed 29 January 2019).
Phillips S. J. A Brief Tutorial on Maxent. Lessons in Conservation, 2009, vol. 3, pp. 108–135.
