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The article highlights the potential threat of the Peters's Rock Agama, a non-native species from sub-Saharan Africa, to reptile diversity in the Lesser Antilles. The introduction of non-native species is causing a loss of biodiversity in the region, which is known for its unique and endemic species. The Peters's Rock Agama has already been sighted in Florida, the Bahamas, and Tortola, and if it establishes a population in the Lesser Antilles, it could negatively impact native species through predation and competition. The article urges local stakeholders to be vigilant and report any sightings to relevant authorities. Additionally, the text emphasizes the importance of state authorities, transport providers, and shipping providers in preventing the spread of invasive species and calls for collaboration between Florida-based conservationists and alien species experts to address this threat. [Extracted from the article]

Multivariate statistical methods were used to elucidate which environmental factors influence the activity patterns of free-living Malayan pit vipers, Calloselasma rhodostoma. Fourteen adult snakes were implanted with miniature radio transmitters and located a total of 887 times in 5 months. The pit vipers usually remained coiled on the ground for several consecutive days before moving at night to a new site. Partial correlation tests revealed that the frequency and distance ofmovements to new sites by tagged snakes were highly positively correlated with ambient relative humidity, but not with rainfall, ambient temperature or the lunar cycle. This finding was corroborated by the frequency with which active non-tagged C. rhodostoma were encounteredat night. In each site, the proportion of the snakes' bodies exposedto view was positively correlated with ambient humidity, and the snakes retreated to areas with deeper undergrowth when ambient humidity was low. Overt thermoregulatory behaviour was not observed, and implanted thermosensitive transmitters revealed that the snakes were passive thermoconformers. These findings seem to contradict much of the current literature which shows temperature to be the dominant abiotic factor affecting reptilian activity, but most herpetologists have considered only temperate forms. Ambient temperature in our tropical study site was warm and relatively constant throughout the year (mean daily range = 24--31 deg.C). so the pit vipers could passively maintain body temperature within a fairly narrow range, with a daytime mean of29.4 deg.C. Ambient relative humidity, on the other hand, was very variable, and confining exposure and activity to periods of high ambient humidity may be necessary to avoid dehydration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]