Species composition and abundance of reptiles in selected habitats at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

James L. Boone
SAIC, 1180 Town Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89134

Chris L. Sowell
SAIC, 1180 Town Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89134

Michael K. Cox
Nevada Division of Wildlife, 4747 Vegas Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89108

Ronald A. Green
TRW Environmental Safety Systems, 1180 Town Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89134

ABSTRACT

From 1991 to 1995, we used a variety of sampling techniques to estimate reptile density and species composition in four vegetation associations at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Understanding the ecology of these animals is important because Yucca Mountain, a site currently considered for storing high-level nuclear waste, is located in the little-studied transition zone between the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. Our efforts documented the presence of 27 species (12 lizards, 14 snakes, 1 tortoise). The most abundant lizards were Uta stansburiana (side-blotched lizard) and Cnemidophorus tigris (western whiptail), and the most abundant snakes were Masticophis flagellum (coachwhip) and Rhinocheilus lecontei (longnose snake). Species richness in the three most intensely studied vegetation associations was similar (20-23 species each), and the number of lizard (9-11) and snake (11-12) species was almost equal across vegetation associations, but the species assemblages were somewhat different. Two species of concern, Sauromalus obesus (western chuckwalla) and Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) were widely distributed throughout the area.