{"id":95271,"date":"2025-08-19T21:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T21:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/95271\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T21:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T21:36:07","slug":"inbreeding-among-michigans-rare-rattlesnakes-is-harming-their-ability-to-survive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/95271\/","title":{"rendered":"Inbreeding among Michigan\u2019s rare rattlesnakes is harming their ability to survive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/YM6NWTYQZZF5BHUHIDBLIPWVEU.jpg\"  loading=\"eager\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3AHYWPRW6JF7LDDYLUAG4D6BEA.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>1\/4<\/p>\n<p class=\"image-gallery-caption\">Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"R7H4BEHQ5JDGTFVFJKV2EDF4G4\">EAST LANSING, MI \u2013 Michigan is home to a single species of venomous snake, and the isolated pockets of its populations are making it more likely it will go extinct.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"KX2NH53ZDBFX5M3HTJHESDMAAM\">Researchers at Michigan State University found the fragmented nature of the wetlands habitats where eastern massasauga rattlesnakes are still found leads to inbreeding among their secluded populations. As a result, the reproductive rates of the snakes are on the decline, a 15-year study showed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/michigan-seeks-citizen-scientists-to-help-monitor-wildfire-smoke-problem.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michigan seeks citizen scientists to help monitor wildfire smoke problem<\/a>Aug. 16, 2025, 9:00a.m.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/as-kirtlands-warbler-numbers-drop-conservationists-ponder-new-strategies.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">As Kirtland\u2019s warbler numbers drop, conservationists ponder new strategies<\/a>Aug. 14, 2025, 1:15p.m.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/michigan-gardeners-could-harm-rare-butterflies-by-planting-the-wrong-flower.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michigan gardeners could harm rare butterflies by planting the wrong flower<\/a>Aug. 13, 2025, 7:00a.m.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/this-tiny-rare-blue-butterfly-is-making-a-comeback-in-michigan.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This tiny, rare, blue butterfly is making a comeback in Michigan<\/a>Aug. 12, 2025, 9:45a.m.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/wildfire-smoke-and-heat-waves-force-vulnerable-michigan-residents-indoors.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wildfire smoke and heat waves force vulnerable Michigan residents indoors<\/a>Aug. 9, 2025, 6:00a.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--center skimlinks\">If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1\/4 Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes EAST LANSING, MI \u2013 Michigan is home to a single species of venomous snake,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[44654,79],"class_list":["post-95271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-processedbyclaro","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}