Snakes brown tree snake cloacal

FIGURE 7.4 A female brown tree snake discharges cloacal defense secretion. (From Greene and Mason, 2000.)... 

Female brown tree snakes release cloacal secretions to inhibit male courtship (Greene and Mason, 2003). Female brown tree snakes are particularly active in the process of courtship compared to reports for other snakes (Greene and Mason, 2000). Females display overt courtship behaviors that appear to solicit courtship from males and may represent mechanisms to asses to quality of potential mates (Greene and Mason, 2000). Also, females lift their tails, gape their cloacae, and deposit secretions during courtship to which males respond by ceasing courtship activity (Greene and Mason,... 

We tested the effects of cloacal secretions that had been aged in a sealed vial on brown tree snakes. Our bioassay measured changes in locomotion, avoidance behavior and the expression of defensive behaviors in response to touch stimuli. A blank control, freshly collected cloacal secretions and aged cloacal secretions were the stimuli used in the study. An applied aim of this study was to investigate chemical cues that might be of use in controlling the brown tree snake in its introduced habitat (Mason and Greene,... 

In conclusion, cloacal secretions have the following behavioral effects on brown tree snakes I) they act as a pheromone that inhibits male courtship behavior, and 2) when aged, they act as a chemical signal and/or chemical irritant that that elicits defensive behaviors from the snakes. Our results represent a significant part of only a small handful of studies that have empirically demonstrated behavioral effects of cloacal secretions, despite the attention they have historically received in the literature (Mason, 1992). The data also demonstrate the effects of volatile chemical signals on snake behavior the effects of non-volatile signals on snake behavior have been more commonly studied (Mason, 1992). 

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