Lying in Wait for Extinction: Ecological Correlates of Conservation Status among Australian Elapid Snakes
Why do some species decline rapidly with anthropogenic disturbance, whereas others readily exploit disturbed habitats? It is possible that the ecological characteristics of some species render them especially vulnerable to extinction. Previous analyses of a diverse array of taxa have identified a number of intrinsic ecological predictors of vulnerability, but snakes have not been studied in this respect. We collated ecological data on Australian venomous snake species in the family Elapidae, based primarily on examination of preserved specimens in museums, to investigate possible differences between threatened and nonthreatened taxa. We also used comparative ( phylogenetically based) analyses to identify functional associations with endangerment. Correlates of conservation vulnerability identified in previous studies did not discriminate successfully between threatened and nonthreatened elapid species. However, threatened and nonthreatened elapids differed significantly in two main respects.