Influence of Availability on the Feeding Habits of the Common Garter Snake

Lagler, Karl F.; Salyer, J. Clark

doi:10.2307/1438279

Cited by 27 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, and the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, range widely in North America (Stebbins 1966) and commonly feed on anurans (Uhler et al 1939, Fitch 1940, 1941, 1965, Lagler and Salyer 1945, Hamilton 1951, Carpenter 1952, Cunningham 1955, Stewart 1968, White and Kolb 1974. The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, and the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, range widely in North America (Stebbins 1966) and commonly feed on anurans (Uhler et al 1939, Fitch 1940, 1941, 1965, Lagler and Salyer 1945, Hamilton 1951, Carpenter 1952, Cunningham 1955, Stewart 1968, White and Kolb 1974.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, and the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, range widely in North America (Stebbins 1966) and commonly feed on anurans (Uhler et al 1939, Fitch 1940, 1941, 1965, Lagler and Salyer 1945, Hamilton 1951, Carpenter 1952, Cunningham 1955, Stewart 1968, White and Kolb 1974. Several authors have noted the occurrence of transform-ing or recently transformed anurans in the diets of Thamnophis (Lagler and Salyer 1945, Fitch 1949, White and Kolb 1974, and particularly Carpenter 1952. In an independent study, Wassersug and Arnold (1976) examined stomach contents from several Thamnophis captured in the vicinity of frog ponds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Relationships of Locomotion to Differential Predation on Pseudacris Triseriata (Anura: Hylidae)

Wassersug¹,

Sperry²

1977

Ecology

225

200

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Laboratory experiments, using the garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis as predator and the chorus frog Pseudacris triseriata as prey, show that metamorphosing anurans are captured more frequently by T. sirtalis than either premetamorphic tadpoles or postmetamorphic frogs. Stomach contents of wild-caught Thamnophis have similarly revealed more anuran prey in transformation than at earlier or later stages. The high susceptibility of transforming Pseudacris to snake predation appears to be a direct consequence of a body form not conducive to effective locomotion.The sustained swimming ability of premetamorphic and metamorphic P. triseriata was examined in the laboratory. It was found that until the eruption of the forelimbs, the larger a tadpole is, the longer it can maintain its position in a steady current. The length of the tail appears to be a positive factor in sustained swimming. Large hindlimbs do not appear to assist swimming and may increase drag. Tadpoles that have begun to metamorphose (forelimbs visible) demonstrate a greatly diminished ability to hold their position in a current.The maximum jumping distance of metamorphic and postmetamorphic P. triseriata was also examined in the laboratory. Individuals which have just begun to metamorphose cannot hop as far as individuals which have advanced through metamorphosis and lost their tails. Amputation of the tails from early metamorphic individuals demonstrates the retarding role that the tail has on saltatory locomotion. Additional features, such as maturation of the anterior appendages, may also account for an increased jumping ability observed in P. triseriata as they progress through metamorphosis.Anurans spend a disproportionately short time in metamorphic transformation. The rapidity of this transformation appears to be an adaptation minimizing the amount of time anurans spend in this most vulnerable form.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, and the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, range widely in North America (Stebbins 1966) and commonly feed on anurans (Uhler et al 1939, Fitch 1940, 1941, 1965, Lagler and Salyer 1945, Hamilton 1951, Carpenter 1952, Cunningham 1955, Stewart 1968, White and Kolb 1974. Several authors have noted the occurrence of transform-ing or recently transformed anurans in the diets of Thamnophis (Lagler and Salyer 1945, Fitch 1949, White and Kolb 1974, and particularly Carpenter 1952. In an independent study, Wassersug and Arnold (1976) examined stomach contents from several Thamnophis captured in the vicinity of frog ponds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationships of Locomotion to Differential Predation on Pseudacris Triseriata (Anura: Hylidae)

Wassersug¹,

Sperry²

1977

Ecology

225

200

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“…Within this dietary array, however, earthworms and amphibians are eaten preferentially. Indeed, the frequency with which mammals and birds were eaten was quite low (Carpenter, 1952;Fitch, 1965;Gregory, 1978;Hamilton, 1951;Lagler & Salyer, 1945). Yet on certain islands of the Beaver Archipelago in Lake Michigan, T. sirtalis has been observed preying extensively on nestlings in the breeding colonies of the common tern, S t e m hitundo, and other colonial larids (Cuthbert, 1982).…”

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confidence: 99%

Phenotypic basis for a feeding change in an insular population of garter snakes

Greenwell

Hall

Sexton

1984

Developmental Psychobiology

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Predation on birds, an unusual behavior for the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), has been observed and documented in an insular garter snake population. Feeding preference tests were performed on naive neonatal snakes and experienced adults from both the island test population and a nearby mainland control population. No significant preference for birds as a prey item was found for either neonates or adults from either population. Therefore, neither a genetic nor an ontogenetic basis for the observed behavior was demonstrable. Birds tainted with a piscine odor, however, elicited a positive feeding response from adult snakes from both geographical sources. We propose that the observed behavior in the field is a result of learning to exploit an abundant, readily available resource already in the predator's repertoire.

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“…Snakes of this population showed frequent responses to fish chemicals, although fish have never been recorded as natural diet for this population . Thus, it is assumed that the island population has the same prey recognition ability as that of the mainland conspecific populations which are known to eat fish in the wild (Lagler and Salyer 1945;Rossman et al 1996). Such an interpretation would be applicable to E. quadrivirgata on Mikura-jima, where natural selection may have been neutral to the ability to recognize frogs as prey, because neither disadvantages nor advantages seem to exist in this attribute under the present environment of this island.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apparent decoupling of prey recognition ability with prey availability in an insular snake population

Tanaka

Mori

Hasegawa

2001

Journal of Ethology

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Numerous studies on the feeding behavior of snakes have reported the consistency of tongue-flick responses with their natural diets. For representatives of widely distributed, dietary generalist species from particular localities, we can expect that their tongue-flick responses to potential prey unavailable in their original habitats have been reduced whereas those to prey common in the habitats have been enhanced. To test this hypothesis, intraspecific variation in tongue-flick responses to prey chemicals was examined using ingestively naive snakes (Elaphe quadrivirgata) from dietarily different populations: populations from the main Japanese island, where the snakes' diet predominantly consists of sympatric frogs, and from Mikura-jima Island, where no frogs occur and the snakes thus chiefly prey on lizards. We presented chemical stimuli from six items including those from their natural and potential prey (fish, frog, lizard, mouse, water, and cologne) to newborn snakes. Significant effects of stimuli on the tongueflick responses were detected. On the other hand, effects of population and interaction between stimuli and population were not significant, and individual comparisons revealed no significant interlocality differences in responses to either frog or lizard chemicals. Thus, our hypothesis was not supported. However, in the Mikura-jima sample, significantly fewer snakes responded to frog chemicals than in the main island sample. The significance of the inconsistency between prey recognition ability and prey availability in the Mikura-jima population are discussed.

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Influence of Availability on the Feeding Habits of the Common Garter Snake

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

The Relationships of Locomotion to Differential Predation on Pseudacris Triseriata (Anura: Hylidae)

The Relationships of Locomotion to Differential Predation on Pseudacris Triseriata (Anura: Hylidae)

Phenotypic basis for a feeding change in an insular population of garter snakes

Apparent decoupling of prey recognition ability with prey availability in an insular snake population

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