The spatial ecology of Mojave Rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus), Prairie Rattlesnakes (C. viridis), and their hybrids in southwestern New Mexico

Hybridization between species provides unique opportunities to understand evolutionary processes that are linked to reproductive isolation and, ultimately, speciation. However, the extrinsic factors that limit hybridization are poorly understood for most animal systems. Although the spatial ecology of individuals in natural habitats is fundamental to shaping reproductive success and survival, analyses of the spatial ecology of hybrids and their parental groups are rarely reported. Here, we used radiotelemetry to monitor wild rattlesnakes across an interspecific hybrid zone (Crotalus scutulatus and Crotalus viridis) and measured movement parameters and space use (utilization distributions) of individuals to evaluate the hypothesis that hybridization resulted in transgressive or atypical movement patterns. Unexpectedly, of the spatial metrics we investigated, we found that hybrids were very similar to parental individuals. Nonetheless, hybrids did show increased patchiness of core utiliza..., , , # Hybrids in space: the spatial ecology of Mojave Rattlesnakes (*Crotalus scutulatus*), Prairie Rattlesnakes (*C. viridis*), and their hybrids in southwestern New Mexico, USA

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tht76hf59](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tht76hf59)

This dataset includes the final VCF alignment file used for hybrid index analysis, the average distance moved per day, average number of movements per day, utilization distribution sizes and patchiness, and the change in average distance moved per day and average number of movements per day from the dry to wet season for each individual snake. These data were used in order to quantify the spatial ecology of snakes dispersed across a hybrid zone between Mojave (*Crotalus scutulatus*) and Prairie (*C. viridis*) Rattlesnakes. The VCF alignment data were collected via raw sequence reads from DNA extractions from blood stored in lysis buffer. Movement metrics were calculated from GPS points collected via field radiotelemetry. Hybrids we...