A peer-reviewed version of this preprint was published in PeerJ on 11 April 2018. View the peer-reviewed version (peerj.com/articles/4618), which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint. González-Fernández A, Manjarrez J, García-Vázquez U, D’Addario M, Sunny A. 2018. Present and future ecological niche modeling of garter snake species from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. PeerJ 6:e4618 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4618 Environmental niche modeling; present and future potential distribution of garter snakes species from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Andrea González Fernández 1 , Javier Manjarrez Corresp., 1 , Uri García-Vázquez 2 , Maristella D’Addario 3 , Armando Sunny 3 1 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de México, México 2 Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Ciudad de México, México 3 Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de México, México Corresponding Author: Javier Manjarrez Email address:
[email protected] Land-use and climate change are affecting the abundance and distribution of species. The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) is a very diverse region due to geological history, geographic position and climate, however, is one of the most disturbed regions in Mexico. Reptiles are particularly sensitive to environmental changes due to their low dispersal capacity and thermal ecology. In this study, we define the environmental niche (a part of it; considering climatic, topographic and land use variables) and potential distribution (present and future) of the five Thamnophis species present in TMVB.