Habitat Use and Movements of Kingsnakes (lampropeltis Getula Holbrooki) in a Partially Abandoned and Reforested Agricultural Landscape

—Lampropeltis getula is a species of conservation concern in several parts of its wide geographic range. I describe habitat use and movement patterns of L. getula holbrooki in an agricultural landscape, a portion of which has been brought out of agriculture and reforested. Both sexes strongly preferred vegetated shrubby levee habitats, and avoided active agricultural fields. There was no evidence that L. getula preferred more natural habitats such as oldfields or reforested areas over agricultural edge habitats. Adult males maintained larger home ranges than adult females. The home ranges of a juvenile male and a first-year adult male were similar to those of females. A small core use area centered on levee habitat was identified within the home range of each snake. A strong preference for vegetated shrubby microhabitats emphasizes the importance of maintaining structural heterogeneity in otherwise featureless agricultural landscapes for the conservation of L. getula populations.