Autecology of the rhombic egg-eater, Dasypeltis scabra

Abstract

Efforts to prevent global losses of biodiversity are hindered by incomplete knowledge of the functional importance of species. In part, this is due to a paucity of information on the basic biology of most species resulting in a poor understanding of their ecological roles. Snakes represent a speciose group of carnivorous predators that are likely important ecological components of a variety of environments given their roles in modulating the sizes of the populations of their prey. Unfortunately, the ecological importance of most species of snakes has yet to be empirically demonstrated, particularly in native systems.