Data for: Sex-based divergence in tidal, lunar and seasonal cycles of activity in the olive sea snake, Aipysurus laevis (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae)

Marine environments show strong cycles at daily (tidal), monthly (lunar)
and seasonal timeframes, and the behavioural responses of marine organisms
to such cycles may depend upon ecological and behavioural traits that
differ between the sexes. Underwater observations of free-ranging olive
sea snakes (Aipysurus laevis, Hydrophiinae, Elapidae) at a site on the
southern Great Barrier Reef revealed sex-based divergences in the effects
of abiotic cycles on snake activity. Female snakes were active primarily
on high and rising tides that allowed access to shallow-water sites for
foraging. In contrast, male snakes were active primarily on low and
falling tides, especially near the time of the full moon (when tidal range
is highest), conditions that may restrict a female snake’s ability to
evade a courting male. Males were common on the coral-reef site during
winter (the mating season), but were rarely seen during summer, whereas
females remained on the reef year-round. This highly sexually dimorphic
species shows strong temporal separations between the sexes in patterns of
activity.