Influence of prey odor concentration on the poststrike trailing behavior of the Northern Pacific rattlesnake
Rattlesnake predatory behavior is defined by a strike and then release of rodent prey. Poststrike, the released envenomated prey dashes off and dies. Therefore, the snake must relocate the prey relying largely upon chemosensory cues emitted by the struck prey. Assessing these poststrike chemosensory cues is important to the snake as these cues may contain […]
Response of hatchling Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at Denver Zoo to visual and chemical cues arising from prey
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20219.abs Five hatchling Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) at Denver Zoo were observed in two experiments that studied the effects of visual and chemical cues arising from prey. Rate of tongue flicking was recorded in Experiment 1, and amount of time the lizards spent interacting with stimuli was recorded in Experiment 2. Our hypothesis was […]
The forked tongue and edge detection in snakes (Crotalus oreganus): An experimental test
Many stimulus-detection systems are lateralized to allow for simultaneous comparison of paired stimuli. It has been hypothesized that the deeply forked tongue of snakes and some derived lizards functions as a chemical edge detector where cues gathered by each tine are kept separate to provide two points of lateral odor assessment by the central nervous […]
Stimulus control of lingual predatory luring and related foraging tactics of mangrove saltmarsh snakes (nerodia clarkii compressicauda)
Knowledge of the various cues that elicit natural behavior is important to our understanding of why and when animals behave as they do. In order to gain insight into the behavior and ecology of Nerodia clarkii compressicauda, a piscivorous snake that uses a unique form of predatory luring as a foraging tactic, we observed 22 […]
Exposure to the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone modulates agonistic interactions in male Homarus americanus
In this study we present evidence that 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) affects agonistic behavior in male American lobsters and that male and female animals differ in their response to the hormone. Thirty-minute staged fights were conducted between large males exposed either to artificial seawater (ASW) or 20E and small, anosmic opponents. The nephropores of both combatants were […]
Prey availability influences the ontogeny and timing of chemoreception-based prey shifting in the striped crayfish snake, Regina alleni
Striped crayfish snakes (Regina alleni) undergo a dietary shift from dragonfly larvae to crayfish during ontogeny. Godley (1980) suggested that this shift is attributable to crayfish availability rather than an initial preference for dragonfly larvae. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by measuring the chemosensory response of newborn snakes to prey odors at 2 ages and […]