Population Ecology of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus)

Matthew Metcalf's is a biology researcher located and Florida Gulf Coast University. In 2019, The Rattlesnake Conservancy provided a $5,000 research grant to the Metcalf Laboratory. His research team has been conducting a long term study on eastern diamondback rattlesnake ecology in southern Florida. Their research project is focused on assessing the population status of eastern diamodback rattlesnakes by studying basic life history, behavioral ecology, invasive species interactions, and genetic diversity of the species. 

​

Specifically, their work is also assessing invasive parasite loads of a type of lung worm that are thought to have been transferred by the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus). The lung worm has been detected in multiple individual eastern diamondbacks and the research conducted by the Metcalf Laboratory will help inform The Rattlesnake Conservancy's population assessment for the species and inform conservation efforts for future years.

​