The foraging ecology of the gray rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides). I. Influence of habitat structural complexity when searching for mammalian prey

Herpetologica

Volumn 55, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 18-28

  Mullin, Stephen J ^a,b   Gutzke, William H N ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS   (United States)

Author keywords

Elaphe obsoleta spiloides; Foraging behavior; Gray rat snake; Habitat simulation; Predatory success; Structural complexity

Indexed keywords

FORAGING BEHAVIOR; HABITAT STRUCTURE; PREDATION; SNAKE;

ELAPHE OBSOLETA;

EID: 0032881039     PISSN: 00180831     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. ANDERSON O. 1984. Optimal foraging by largemouth bass in structured environments. Ecology 65:851-861.
2. BURGHARDT, G. M. 1991. Cognitive ethology and critical anthropomorphism: a snake with two heads and hognose snakes that play dead. Pp. 53-90. In C. A. Ristau (Ed.), Cognitive Ethology: the Minds of Other Animals. Erlbaum and Assoc., Hillsdale, New Jersey, U.S.A.
3. CHISZAR, D., H. M. SMITH, AND C. W. RADCLIFFE. 1993. Zoo and laboratory experiments on the behavior of snakes: assessments of competence in captive-raised animals. American Zoologist 33:109-116.
4. CHISZAR, D., T. MELCER, R. LEE, C. W. RADCLIFFE, AND D. DUVALL. 1990. Chemical cues used by prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) to follow trails of rodent prey. Journal of Chemical Ecology 16:79-86.
5. CINK, C. L. 1991. Snake predation on nestling Eastern Pheobes followed by turtle predation on snake. Kansas Ornithological Society Bulletin 42:29.
6. COHEN, J. 1965. Some statistical issues in psychological research. Pp. 95-121. In B. B. Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of Clinical Psychology. McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, U.S.A.
7. DELL'OMO, G., AND E. ALLEVA. 1994. Snake odor alters behavior, but not pain sensitivity in mice. Physiology and Behavior 55:125-128.
8. DRUMMOND, H. 1983. Aquatic foraging in garter snakes: a comparison of specialists and generalists. Behaviour 86:1-30.
9. _. 1985. The role of vision in the predatory behaviour of natricine snakes. Animal Behaviour 33: 206-215.
10. DURNER, G. M., AND J. E. GATES. 1993. Spatial ecology of black rat snakes on Remington Farms, Maryland. Journal of Wildlife Management 57: 812-826.
11. FITCH, H. S. 1963. Natural history of the black rat snake (Elaphe o. obsoleta) in Kansas. Copeia 1963: 649-658.
12. FORD, N. B., AND G. M. BURGHARDT. 1993. Perceptual mechanisms and the behavioral ecology of snakes. Pp. 117-164. In R. A. Seigel and J. T. Collins (Eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Behavior. McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, U.S.A.
13. FRAGASZY, D. M., AND S. BOINSKI. 1995. Patterns of individual diet choice and efficiency of foraging in wedge-capped capuchin monkeys (Cebus olivaceus). Journal of Comparative Psychology 109:339-348.
14. HALPERN, M. 1992. Nasal chemical senses in reptiles: structure and function. Pp. 423-523. In C. Gans and D. Crews (Eds.), Biology of the Reptilia, Vol. 18. Physiology E. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
15. HECK, K. L., JR., AND L. B. CROWDER. 1991. Habitat structure and predator-prey interactions in vegetated aquatic systems. Pp. 281-299. In S. S. Bell, E. D. McCoy, and H. R. Mushinsky (Eds.), Habitat Structure: the Physical Arrangement of Objects in Space. Chapman & Hall, New York, New York, U.S.A.
16. HECK, K. L., JR., AND R. J. ORTH. 1980. Seagrass habitats: the roles of habitat complexity, competition and predation structuring fish and motile macroinvertebrate assemblages. Pp. 449-464. In V. S. Kennedy (Ed.), Estuarine Perspectives. Academic Press, New York, New York, U.S.A.
17. HEINEN, J. T. 1995. Predator cues and prey responses: a test using eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis s. sirtalis) and American toads (Bufo a. americanus). Copeia 1995:738-741.
18. HELFMAN, G. S. 1990. Mode selection and mode switching in foraging animals. Advances in the Study of Behavior 19:249-298.
19. HENNESSEY, D. F., AND D. H. OWINGS. 1978. Snake species discrimination and the role of olfactory cues in the snake-directed behavior of the California ground squirrel. Behaviour 65:115-124.
20. HENSLEY, R. C., AND K. G. SMITH. 1986. Eastern Bluebird responses to nocturnal black rat snake nest predation. Wilson Bulletin 98:602-603.
21. HUITEMA, B. E. 1980. The Analysis of Covariance and Alternatives. Wiley & Sons, New York, New York, U.S.A.
22. JACKSON, J. A. 1974. Gray rat snakes versus red-cockaded woodpeckers: predator-prey adaptations. Auk 91:342-347.
23. _. 1976. Relative climbing tendencies of gray (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) and black rat snakes (E. o. obsoleta). Herpetologica 32:359-361.
24. JONES, K. B. 1990. Habitat use and predatory behavior of Thannophis cyrtopsis (Serpentes: Colubridae) in a seasonally variable aquatic environment. Southwestern Naturalist 35:115-122.
25. JONES, K. B., AND W. G. WHITFORD. 1989. Feeding behavior of free-roaming Masticophis flagellum: an efficient ambush predator. Southwestern Naturalist 34:460-467.
26. KIRK, R. E. 1982. Experimental Design Procedures for the Behavioral Sciences. Brooks/Cole, Belmont, California, U.S.A.
27. KREBS, J. R. 1989. Ecological Methodology. Harper & Row, New York, New York, U.S.A.
28. LIMA, S. L., AND L. M. DILL. 1990. Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 619-640.
29. MARTINDALE, C. 1978. The therapist-as-fixed effect fallacy in psychotherapy research. Journal of Consultation and Clinical Psychology 46:1526-1530.
30. MCCALL, R. B., AND M. I. APPELBAUM. 1973. Bias in the analysis of repeated-measures designs: some alternative approaches. Child Development 44: 401-115.
31. MCCOY, E. D., AND S. S. BELL. 1991. Habitat structure: the evolution and diversification of a complex topic. Pp. 3-27. In S. S. Bell. E. D. McCoy, and H. R. Mushinsky (Eds.). Habitat Structure: the Physical Arrangement of Objects in Space. Chapman & Hall, New York, New York, U.S.A.
32. MIRARCHI, R. E., AND R. R. HITCHCOCK. 1982. Radio-instrumented mourning dove preyed upon by gray rat snake. Auk 99:583.
33. MOERMOND, T. C. 1979. The influence of habitat structure on Anolis foraging behavior. Behaviour 70:147-167.
34. MULLIN, S. J. 1996. Adaptations facilitating facultative oophagy in the gray rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta spiloides. Amphibia-Reptilia 17:387-394.
35. _. 1998. The Foraging Ecology of the Gray Rat Snake, Elaphe obsoleta spiloides (Duméril, Bibron and Duméril, 1854). Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
36. MULLIN, S. J., AND H. R. MUSHINKSY. 1995. Foraging ecology of the mangrove salt marsh snake, Nerodia clarkii compressicauda: effects of vegetational density. Amphibia-Reptilia 16:167-175.
37. _. 1997. Use of experimental enclosures to examine foraging success in water snakes: a case study. Journal of Herpetology 31:565-569.
38. MULLIN, S. J., R. J. COOPER, AND W. H. N. GUTZKE. 1998. The foraging ecology of the gray rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides). III. Searching for different prey types in structurally variable habitats. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76:548-555.
39. MURRAY, D. L., S. BOUTIN, J. O'DONOGHUE, AND V. O. NAMS. 1995. Hunting behaviour of a sympatric felid and canid in relation to vegetative cover. Animal Behaviour 50:1203-1210.
40. NELSON, W. G. ]979. Experimental studies of selective predation on amphipods: consequences for amphipod distribution and abundance. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 38:225-245.
41. NELSON, W. G., AND E. BONSDORFF. 1990. Fish predation and habitat complexity: are complexity thresholds real? Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 141:183-194.
42. NORUSIS, M. J. 1990. SPSS® Advanced Statistics User's Guide. SPSS, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
43. PIERCE, G. J., AND J. G. OLLASON. 1987. Eight reasons why optimal foraging theory is a complete waste of time. Oikos 49:111-118.
44. RANDALL, J. A., S. M. HATCH, AND E. R. HEKKALA. 1995. Inter-specific variation in anti-predator behavior in sympatric species of kangaroo rat. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 36:243-250.
45. REINERT, H. K. 1993. Habitat selection in snakes. Pp. 201-240. In R. A. Seigel and J. T. Gollins (Eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Behavior. McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, U.S.A.
46. ROYAMA, T. 1970. Evolutionary significance of predators response to local differences in prey density: a theoretical study. Pp. 344-357. In P. J. den Boer and G. R. Gradwell (Eds.), Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute on 'Dynamics of Numbers in Populations,' Oosterbeek, the Netherlands, 7-18 September 1970. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
47. SAVINO, J. F., AND R. A. STEIN. 1982. Predator-prey interaction between largemonth bass and bluegills as influenced by simulated, submersed vegetation. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 111:255-266.
48. SCHAEFFEL, F., AND U. MATHIS. 1991. Underwater vision in semi-aquatic European snakes. Naturwissenschaften 78:373-375.
49. STEPHENS, D. W, AND J. R. KREBS. 1986. Foraging Theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
50. VINCE, S., I. VALIELA, N. BACKUS, AND J. M. TEAL. 1976. Predation by the salt marsh killifish Fundulus heteroclitus (L.) in relation to prey size and habitat structure: consequences for prey distribution and abundance. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 23:255-266.
51. WEATHERHEAD, P. J. 1989. Temporal and thermal aspects of hibernation of black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) in Ontario. (Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 2332-2335.
52. WEATHERHEAD, P. J., AND D. J. HOYSAK. 1989. Spatial and activity patterns of black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) from radiotelemetry and recapture data. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67:463-468.