Analysis of activity patterns and habitat use of radiotracked African burrowing pythons, Calabaria reinhardtii

Five specimens of the burrowing python Calabaria (Charina) reinhardtii were radiotracked in a forest locality of southeastern Nigeria. The radiotracki ng study was conducted both during the dry season (320 locations) and the w et season (400 locations). Each of the specimens was below ground in more t han 80% of the locations, both during the dry and the wet seasons. The vari ous specimens were similar in terms of daily distribution of aboveground lo cations. Above-ground activity was normally confined to the night hours. Th ick forest, forest clearings, and swamp-forest were the more frequently use d habitat types. Cultivated land was used more frequently during the wet se ason, and suburbia was in general avoided. Both in the dry and in the wet s easons, the radiotracked specimens used the various habitat types independe ntly of the relative percent surface occupied by a given habitat in the fie ld. Intersexual differences in terms of habitat use were not statistically significant. Above ground, the frequency of utilization of the various subs tratum types by the radiotracked specimens differed significantly between s easons, but not between sexes. The pythons sheltered frequently inside term ite nests, mainly inside those situated in forested spots, and especially d uring the dry season. All the monitored specimens were located significantl y more frequently inside superficial than deep underground galleries, indep endently of the season. Social groups were observed only during the dry sea son. Mean daily movement rates were significantly higher in males than in f emales, and this pattern did not show any seasonal change. In general terms , a remarkable interseasonal ecological homogeneity in most of the examined Life-history aspects was observed. This homogeneity could be interpreted a s an evolutionary response to the year-round relatively stable and unfluctu ating belowground environment.