Garter snake response

Halpem M., Halpem J., Erichsen E. and Borghjid S. (1997). The role of nasal chemical senses in garter snake response to airborne odor cues from prey. J Comp Psychol 111, 251-260. 

Moore, I.T., LeMaster, M.P. and Mason, R.T. (2000) Behavioural and hormonal responses to capture stress in the male red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis. Anim. Behav. 59, 529-534. 

Zuri, I. and Halpem, M. (2003) Differential effects of lesions of the vomeronasal and olfactory nerves on garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) response to airborne chemical stimuli. Behav. Neurosci. 117, 169-183. 

Reptiles Garter snakes Thamnophis Feeding Response to earthworm Halpern eta/., 1985... 

In garter snakes Thamnophis sirtalis) a VNO-mediated stimulus can reinforce behavior dried earthworm wash or earthworm bits can be used to reward correct performance in a conditioned response to an arbitrary stimulus, such as dots versus stripes in a Y-maze (Halpern etal., 1985). In red-eared turtles the VNO is considered to involve aqueous chemoreception in water. Salt solutions and soluble vapor substances generated activity in the accessory olfactory bulb (Hatanaka and Hanada, 1987). 

Arnold, S. J. (1978). Some effects of early experience on feeding responses in the common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. Animal Behaviour 26,455-462. 

Brodie, E. D., Jr., Ridenhour, B. J., and Brodie, E. D., III. (2002). The evolutionary response of predators to dangerous prey hotspots and coldspots in the geographic mosaic of coevolution between garter snakes and newts. Evolution 56,2067-2082. 

Burghardt, G. M. (1966). Stimulus control of the prey attack response in naive garter snakes. PsychonomicScience4,37-38. 

Drummond, H. and Garcia, M. (1995). Congenital responsiveness of garter snakes to a dangerous prey abolished by learning. AntVna/Be/wvwar49,891-900. 

Fuchs, J. L. and Burghardt, G. M. (1971). Effects of early feeding experience on the responses of garter snakes to food chemicals. Learning and Motivation 2,271-279. 

Garter snakes respond to prey extracts with tongue flicking and attempts to bite (Gove and Burkhardt 1975). Test extracts of different prey animals such as earthworms, slugs, crickets, or leeches. Dip cotton balls or Q-tips into extracts and present to captive snakes. Experimenter should be behind screen to minimize snake s responses to light or movement. 

Garter snakes can be trained to correctly follow trails of earthworm extract in a four-choice maze. Snakes are most accurate following high concentration trails and increase their tongue-flick rate as a function of earthworm extract concentration (Kubie and Halpem, 1978). Vomeronasal nerve lesions, but not olfactory nerve lesions, result in a loss of accurate trail following and a loss of increased tongue-flicking in response to trail odor concentrations (Kubie and Halpem, 1979). 

Olfactory and vomeronasal bipolar neurons may differ in their responsiveness to stimulating substances and these differences in response characteristics could provide important clues to their differential functions. In garter snakes a spectrum of chemical stimuli (standard odorants, amino acids and prey products, including purified proteins from earthworms, a favored prey of garter snakes) applied to the vomeronasal epithelium modify unit responses in the AOB (Inouchi et al., 1993 Wang et al., 1993 Taniguchi et al., 1998,2000). 

The vomeronasal system is necessary in mediating a variety of reproductive behaviors-behaviors which are clearly sexually dimorphic. A male garter snake, for example, requires an intact vomeronasal system to court a female (Kubie et al., 1978). Female mice undergo several effects in response to pheromones of male conspecifics, including induction of estrus, estrus synchrony (in group-housed females), and pregnancy... 

We examined the laboratory responses of red-backed salamanders to two predator diet treatments at two different time periods to determine whether the chemical label that identifies individual garter snakes as an elevated risk is conserved within the Plethodontidae, and to examine a possible temporal shift in red-backed salamander antipredator behavior. The early trials were conducted between 2100 and 2230 hours, and the late trials were conducted between 2330 and 0100 hours. In each of these trial periods, test salamanders were given the choice between T. sirtalis fed P. cinerem (TSp ) or E. bislineata (TSEb) versus distilled water. To assess the relative strength of each snake diet treatment, test salamanders also were given the choice between TSpc and TS. ... 

Sullivan, A. M., Maerz, J. C., and Madison D. M., 2002, Anti-predator response of red-backed sakunanders (Plethodon cinereus) to chemical cues fiom garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) laboratory and field experiments. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 51 227-233. 

Red-backed salamanders Plethodon cinereus) respond to distilled water rinses of garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) that have recently attacked other red-backed salamanders (Madison et al., 2002). These anti-predator behaviors consist of avoidance (Madison et al., 1999a Mcdarby et al., 1999) and altered activity (Madison et al., 1999a), and have been documented in the laboratory and in the field (Sullivan et al., 2002). The responses persist for up to 36 hours in laboratory trials, but no longer than 3 hours in the field (Sullivan et al., 2002). Whether the attenuated response in the field is due to a diminishing of the cue or to field-based shifts in salamander behavior remains unclear. 

Based on the strong avoidance and relatively uniform activity in response to all treatments, we conclude that the chemical cue in a garter snake rinse continues to elicit an avoidance response in red-backed salamanders for up to 48-hours in the laboratory, which is in agreement with previous studies by Sullivan et al., (2002). While our results do not support the microbial degradation hypothesis, further research is necessary before we can conclude that microbes are inconsequential to the cue. Other sources of microorganisms, such as the forest floor and soil that harbor a rich and diverse microbial community (Waksman, 1952), should be examined. Also, the hypotonic environment of the distilled water used to collect the snake rinse could have potentially caused cell lysis, destroying any bacteria in the rinse. 

In seven years of studies, we have documented a highly predictable avoidance response in the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, to body rinses from garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, that have been feeding on P. cinereus (standard TSpc stimulus Madison et al., 1999a,b McDarby et al., 1999 Maerz et al., 2001 Madison et al., 2002 Sullivan et al., 2002, 2003). While we always get avoidance of TSpc, no such avoidance occurs in response to body rinses fi om garter snakes feeding on earthworms,... 

Mason, R.T., Jones, T.H., Pales, H.M., Pannell, L.K. Crews, D. 1990. Characterization, synthesis, and behavioral responses to sex attractiveness pheromones of red-sided garter snakes Thamnophis sirtalis pane-talis). J. Chem. EcoL, 16, 2353—2369. 

The alarm substance hypothesis cannot be excluded in our trials, but it can be rejected based on other studies. We have shown that red-backed salamanders do not avoid substrate traces from red-backed salamanders that have been induced to autotomize their own tail (a stress-induced, anti-predator response Arnold, 1988 Lancaster Wise, 1996), and other red-backed salamanders even attempt to eat the autotomized tails (Madison, unpublished). In addition, the broken skin of sacrificed red-backed salamanders fails to negate the chemosensory avoidance of substrates from garter snakes that had been fed red-backed salamanders (McDarby, 1997). 

The intraspecific competitor avoidance response can be excluded in the trials involving both predators. The spotted salamanders did not have diets that included red-backed salamanders, so pheromones of red-backed salamanders could not have elicited the avoidance observed. The garter snake trials included one comparison that specifically control-... 

In summary, we believe our experiments indicate that red-backed salamanders identify and avoid chemical substances deposited by spotted salamanders and garter snakes, and since the latter two species are either known or probable predators of red-backed salamanders, we believe the avoidance response is an anti-predator mechanism that decreases predation risk. 

In comprehensive studies of chemosensory avoidance by red-backed salamanders (R cinereus) of the substrate odors of eastern garter snakes (T. sirtalis), salamanders showed risk-sensitivity that varied with snake diet and time of testing (McDarby, 1997 McDarby, Madison Maerz, in press Madison et al., 1999). During these studies, salamanders were introduced into petri dishes with scented and non-scented halves, and some salamanders appeared to move around considerably while others appeared to become relatively inactive or to not move at all. Since amount of movement was not measured directly nor systematically, we wanted to repeat critical experiments and determine whether freeze or flight responses had occurred, and if so, whether and in what way they varied with substrate avoidance. 

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