Prey Size and Feeding Rate Do Not Influence Trophic Morphology of Juvenile Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

Swartwout, Meredith C.; Vogrinc, Philip N.; Baecher, J. Alex; Kross, Chelsea S.; Willson, John D.

doi:10.1655/herpetologica-d-18-00007

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The impact of food intake on growth rate and body size is straightforward and uncontroversial, but the idea of foodinduced phenotypic plasticity in RJSs of snakes is less clearcut. Some of the experimental studies that have manipulated prey size for captive animals have concluded that RJS responds to food treatment [31,[33][34][35]39], whereas others have found no such effect [66][67][68][69]. Some of those null results may reflect logistical constraints (sample sizes, durations of research), rendering it difficult to reach any conclusions on the generality of this form of phenotypic plasticity in snakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…HQ correlated with body size in both sexes (figure 2), as expected if more food promotes faster growth and higher survival rates (and thus, greater mean age). High rates of growth also might indirectly affect RJS [67,69]. Nonetheless, the lack of significant correlation between the mean body size and the mean RJS across sites suggests that effects of food supply on rates of growth of the body versus the jaws (relative to body size) were at least partly uncoupled.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plasticity matches phenotype to local conditions despite genetic homogeneity across 13 snake populations

et al. 2021

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In a widespread species, a matching of phenotypic traits to local environmental optima is generally attributed to site-specific adaptation. However, the same matching can occur via adaptive plasticity, without requiring genetic differences among populations. Adult sea kraits ( Laticauda saintgironsi ) are highly philopatric to small islands, but the entire population within the Neo-Caledonian Lagoon is genetically homogeneous because females migrate to the mainland to lay their eggs at communal sites; recruits disperse before settling, mixing up alleles. Consequently, any matching between local environments (e.g. prey sizes) and snake phenotypes (e.g. body sizes and relative jaw sizes (RJSs)) must be achieved via phenotypic plasticity rather than spatial heterogeneity in gene frequencies. We sampled 13 snake colonies spread along an approximately 200 km northwest–southeast gradient ( n > 4500 individuals) to measure two morphological features that affect maximum ingestible prey size in gape-limited predators: body size and RJS. As proxies of habitat quality (HQ), we used protection status, fishing pressure and lagoon characteristics (lagoon width and distance of islands to the barrier reef). In both sexes, spatial variation in body sizes and RJSs was linked to HQ; albeit in different ways, consistent with sex-based divergences in foraging ecology. Strong spatial divergence in morphology among snake colonies, despite genetic homogeneity, supports the idea that phenotypic plasticity can facilitate speciation by creating multiple phenotypically distinct subpopulations shaped by their environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasticity matches phenotype to local conditions despite genetic homogeneity across 13 snake populations

et al. 2021

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Sex-specific growth is mirrored in feeding rate but not moulting frequency in a sexually dimorphic snake

Bury

2021

Sci Nat

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Dwarf vipers on a small island: body size, diet and fecundity correlates

Tomović

Anđelković

Golubović

et al. 2022

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Insular populations offer excellent opportunities to study the factors that influence phenotypes. We observed island dwarfism in a widespread snake, the nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes). Island vipers were ~20% smaller than mainland individuals. They also produced fewer and smaller offspring. In snakes, food availability has a positive influence on body size, fecundity and offspring size. Consequently, low energy intake is a plausible explanation for insular dwarfism. The diet of island vipers was principally represented by lizards and centipedes, whereas the most profitable prey items (e.g. rodents) were regularly found in the stomach of mainland vipers. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals captured with a full stomach and good body condition were lower on the island compared with the mainland. Thus, island vipers were likely to be experiencing permanent energy restriction, with cascading effects on adult body size and reproductive output. Large prey promotes high relative jaw length in snakes. Island vipers displayed smaller relative jaw length compared with mainland populations, suggesting that plasticity played a role in insular dwarfism. But the difference in relative tail length between island and mainland populations, a trait not subjected to food-induced plasticity, indicates local adaptation. Both plasticity and adaptation might influence the phenotype of island vipers.

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Prey Size and Feeding Rate Do Not Influence Trophic Morphology of Juvenile Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

Cited by 3 publications

References 58 publications

Plasticity matches phenotype to local conditions despite genetic homogeneity across 13 snake populations

Plasticity matches phenotype to local conditions despite genetic homogeneity across 13 snake populations

Sex-specific growth is mirrored in feeding rate but not moulting frequency in a sexually dimorphic snake

Dwarf vipers on a small island: body size, diet and fecundity correlates

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