What ecosystem processes are likely to influence where a rattlesnake lives?

Question

What ecosystem processes are likely to influence where a rattlesnake lives?

Answer 1

Rattlesnakes need food, water, and shelter.

They are predators, and where they live depends on availability of prey (e.g. small rodents), which in turn depends on the availability of food (grains and seeds), which in turn depends on the primary producers (grasses).  So the quality of an area as rattlesnake habitat depends ultimately on the amount and type of primary production, which plant species are the primary producers, and which consumers are present.