Conspecific animals living in multiple habitats may utilize different behaviours to survive and thrive in their environments. The Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), a generalist pit viper species, lives in a myriad of habitat types. We hypothesized that populations inhabiting hot, inland habitats and those in cool, coastal habitats would exhibit different behavioural strategies, especially those related to thermoregulation. Additionally, we determined whether environmental factors could be used as predictors of certain behaviours. We recorded environmental and behavioural data while radio-tracking adult, male rattlesnakes from two inland sites and two coastal sites throughout their active season. We found significant differences in thermoregulatory behaviour, with coastal snakes found more frequently above ground and in an active state than inland snakes. Additionally, wind, cloud cover, and air temperature were significant predictors of several snake behaviours. These results suggest that rattlesnakes exhibit plasticity in thermoregulatory behaviour.

生活在多个栖息地的同种动物可能会利用不同的行为在其环境中生存和繁衍。太平洋响尾蛇（Crotalus oreganus ）)，一种通才毒蛇物种，生活在无数的栖息地类型中。我们假设居住在炎热的内陆栖息地和凉爽的沿海栖息地的种群会表现出不同的行为策略，尤其是与体温调节相关的行为策略。此外，我们确定了环境因素是否可以用作某些行为的预测因素。我们记录了环境和行为数据，同时对来自两个内陆地点和两个沿海地点的整个活跃季节的成年雄性响尾蛇进行无线电跟踪。我们发现体温调节行为存在显着差异，与内陆蛇相比，沿海蛇在地面上发现的频率更高且处于活跃状态。此外，风、云量和气温是几种蛇行为的重要预测因素。