Feeling rattled? Resident attitudes, urban habitat features, and patterns of snake removals in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area
Enloe, Annika
amenloe@asu.edu
College of Integrative Science and Arts
Arizona State University
Mesa, Arizona USA
Brown, J.
Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona USA
Larson, K. L.
Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona USA
School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona USA
Bateman, H. L.
College of Integrative Science and Arts
Arizona State University
Mesa, Arizona USA
Understanding how wildlife is adapting to urban environments is critical as urbanization contributes to habitat change and fragmentation globally. Patterns of human-wildlife interactions can be informative when trying to ascertain information about urban wildlife and possible conflicts with humans. In Phoenix, Arizona, these conflicts commonly involve reptiles, especially venomous and nonvenomous snakes. Researchers have partnered with a local business, Rattlesnake Solutions, LLC, which removes and relocates snakes from residential yards and businesses in the greater Phoenix area. This partnership has provided records of snake removals to pair with social and ecological datasets. During 2021, we measured habitat along 100m front yard transects in residential areas with snake removals and from randomly paired residential areas. Analyses have shown a positive relationship between snake removals and habitat variables relating to available cover, vegetation, and tidiness of the yard. Further analyses are underway to assess these relationships among snake taxa. Along with habitat features, social data was collected on perceptions of snakes. Clients of Rattlesnake Solutions, LLC, were asked to answer a short survey regarding attitudes towards snakes that mirrors questions asked in the 2021 Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS). From the social surveys, we found that both clients of the snake removal service and PASS respondents felt snakes were important part of the desert ecosystem. Although PASS respondents were split on if it's okay to kill snakes, a majority of clients of the removal service responded it was not okay to kill snakes, perhaps suggesting that clients are using the snake removal service as a wildlife stewardship action.