Home Range and Nocturnal Activity of the Ozark Hellbender
Radio-telemetric methods were used to determine home ranges and nocturnal activity of seven Ozark hellbenders, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishipi, in the North Fork of the White River, Ozark County, Missouri, during a 14 day period in August, 1979. The mean elliptical home range for combined sexes was 90.01 m² (82.92 m² for males, 99.43 m² for females). The nocturnal activity rhythms were monophasic with a mean peak of 1.8 m of movement during the 2 hour time interval shortly after the onset of darkness. The mean direction of nocturnal movement was 296.63° which closely corresponds to the upstream direction of 295°. At dawn they returned to their "home rock" and remained in that area until dusk.
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