Prey-Driven Behavioral Habitat Use in a Low-Energy Ambush Predator

Food acquisition is an important modulator of animal behavior and habitat selection that can affect fitness. Optimal foraging theory predicts that predators should select habitat patches to maximize their foraging success and net energy gain, which predators can achieve by targeting spaces with high prey availability. However, it is debated whether prey availability drives fine-scale habitat selection for predators. We assessed whether an ambush predator, the timber rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus ), exhibits optimal foraging site selection based on the spatial distribution and availability of prey. We evaluated the spatial concordance of radio-telemetered timber rattlesnake foraging locations and passive infrared game camera trap detections of potential small mammal prey ( Peromyscus spp., Tamias striatus, and Sciurus spp.) in a mixed-use forest in southeastern Ohio from 2016–2019. We replicated a characteristic timber rattlesnake ambush position by focusing cameras over logs and modeled small mammal encounters across the landscape in relation to remotely-sensed forest and landscape structural features. To determine whether snakes selectively forage in areas with higher prey availability, we projected the estimated prey spatial relationships across the landscape and modeled their overlap of occurrence with observed timber rattlesnake foraging locations. We broadly predicted that prey availability was greatest in mature deciduous forests, but T . striatus and Sciurus spp. exhibited greater spatial heterogeneity compared to Peromyscus spp. We also combined predicted species encounter rates to encompass a body size gradient in potential prey. The spatial distribution of cumulative small mammal encounters (i.e. overall prey availability), rather than the distribution of any one species, was highly predictive of snake foraging. Timber rattlesnakes appear to select foraging locations where the probability of encountering prey is greatest. Our study provides evidence for fine-scale optimal foraging in a low-energy, ambush predator and offers new insights into drivers of snake foraging and habitat selection.