The mechanics and muscular control of constriction in gopher snakes (<i>Pituophis melanoleucus</i>) and a king snake (<i>Lampropeltis getula</i>)

Moon, Brad R.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00823.x

Cited by 40 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…In snakes, epaxial muscles lying beside the vertebral column are of primary importance for locomotion (Cundall 1987) and constriction (Moon 2000). Magnetic resonance imaging of epaxial musculature has verified that external measurements of epaxial muscle width with callipers provide accurate estimates of actual muscle size (Lourdais et al 2005).…”

Section: Variables Collectedmentioning

confidence: 98%

Structural and Performance Costs of Reproduction in a Pure Capital Breeder, the Children’s PythonAntaresia childreni

Lourdais¹,

Lorioux²,

DeNardo³

2013

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Females often manage the high energy demands associated with reproduction by accumulating and storing energy in the form of fat before initiating their reproductive effort. However, fat stores cannot satisfy all reproductive resource demands, which include considerable investment of amino acids (e.g., for the production of yolk proteins or gluconeogenesis). Because capital breeders generally do not eat during reproduction, these amino acids must come from internal resources, typically muscle proteins. Although the energetic costs of reproduction have been fairly well studied, there are limited data on structural and performance costs associated with the muscle degradation required to meet amino acid demands. Thus, we examined structural changes (epaxial muscle width) and performance costs (constriction and strength) over the course of reproduction in a pure capital breeder, the children's python (Antaresia childreni). We found that both egg production (i.e., direct resource allocation) and maternal care (egg brooding) induce muscle catabolism and affect performance of the female. Although epaxial muscle loss was minimal in nonreproductive females, it reached up to 22% (in females after oviposition) and 34% (in females after brooding) of initial muscle width. Interestingly, we found that individuals with higher initial muscular condition allocated more of their muscle into reproduction. The amount of muscle loss was significantly linked to clutch mass, underscoring the role of structural protein in egg production. Egg brooding significantly increased proteolysis and epaxial loss despite no direct allocation to the offspring. Muscle loss was linked to a significant reduction in performance in postreproductive females. Overall, these results demonstrate that capital-breeding females experience dramatic costs that consume structural resources and jeopardize performance.

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Section: Variables Collectedmentioning

confidence: 98%

Structural and Performance Costs of Reproduction in a Pure Capital Breeder, the Children’s PythonAntaresia childreni

Lourdais¹,

Lorioux²,

DeNardo³

2013

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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“…Other studies have shown that body size and maturation can influence performance patterns for many snake species (Pough 1978;Lind and Welsh Jr 1994;Savitsky and Burghardt 2000;Moon and Tullis 2006). As prey restraint behavior requires muscular movements, the maturation of the epaxial muscles, which has been shown to be active during prey restraint behaviors such as constriction (Moon 2000), may greatly affect the ability of hatchlings to constrict prey as well as the effectiveness of constriction. Thus, the findings that the frequency of more complex prey restraint behaviors (behaviors requiring more than 50% of the trunk) increased across trials and that more complex behaviors were employed by hatchlings in the L treatment in both experiments suggests that regular experience with large prey and/or muscle maturation are important in the development of predatory behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early experience shapes the development of behavioral repertoires of hatchling snakes

Mehta

2008

J Ethol

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Snakes are obligate predatory organisms that consume prey whole, and despite their precocious nature, snakes must develop effective feeding skills, especially when encountering large prey. I conducted two experiments that document the development of behavioral repertoires for naïve hatchling trinket snakes, Coleognathus helena. In the first experiment, I examined how experience with prey of different relative prey mass encountered at regular feeding intervals affects hatchling feeding response. I also examined whether hatchling feeding performance improved over time. Improvement was evaluated on the frequency of the most effective behavioral states such as complex prey restraint behaviors and anterior-first ingestion. In the second experiment I tested whether feeding experience with prey of a particular size influences the way hatchlings respond to a novel prey size. All hatchlings improved their predatory behavior when prey size and number of trials were controlled. Hatchlings feeding on larger prey, however, showed greater overall improvement in their feeding behavior and were quick to integrate complex prey restraint behaviors such as constriction into their feeding repertoire. Despite the fact that early experience with one prey size seemed to shape their restraint repertoire during their first four feeding events, hatchlings remained flexible and responded to prey of a novel size with size-specific prey restraint behaviors.

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“…This descriptive result probably reflects a high demand for muscular force (Moon & Candy, 1997), and is consistent with the predatory mode of constriction. MRI data indicated that musculature was significantly variable across body sections, being most developed in the second section, which is a region directly used during prey seizing and constriction (Greene & Burghardt, 1978;Moon, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the use of MRI validated the use of calliper-derived dorsal musculature measurements. The role of epaxial muscles in constriction has attracted considerable interest (Ruben, 1977;Jayne, 1982;Moon, 2000). Our original approach was based on considering inter-individual variation in the width of epaxial muscles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trunk crosssections reveal the complex arrangement of the epaxial muscles, located beside the vertebrae, which are critical to the mechanics of locomotion (Jayne, 1982;Cundall, 1987). Epaxial muscles are particularly well-developed in constricting species, which use their body coils to suffocate prey before ingestion (Ruben, 1977;Moon, 2000). Constriction has been a key innovation in the evolution and radiation of snakes (Greene & Burghart, 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to assess musculature and performance in a constricting snake? A case study in the Colombian rainbow boa ( Epicrates cenchria maurus )

2005

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The ability of a living organism to perform specific actions such as prey capture or predator avoidance is a critical feature that should affect individual fitness. Snakes have an elongate morphology that lacks the regional variation associated with girdles found in limbed vertebrates. In this context, this group offers interesting opportunities to study specific forms and functions. In this study, we examined musculature in a medium-sized boid snake, the Colombian rainbow boa Epicrates cenchria maurus, by combining two methods: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and calliper measurements after axial palpation. The MRI demonstrated an important development of epaxial musculature consistent with the predatory mode of constriction. We showed that MRI and palpation data were strongly correlated, indicating that musculature is an easily measurable phenotypic feature in the studied species. The calliper method was then applied in combination with assessments of physical performance (constriction and defence capabilities) in a group of snakes after a prolonged fast and again after a re-feeding period. A clear relationship was detected between dorsal musculature and both maximal traction and constriction forces. Re-feeding significantly increased dorsal musculature and traction capabilities. While musculature assessments are classically difficult to achieve among tetrapods, this study suggests that snakes are interesting models for examining variation in musculature and performance in natural and experimental conditions.

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The mechanics and muscular control of constriction in gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) and a king snake (Lampropeltis getula)

Cited by 40 publications

References 45 publications

Structural and Performance Costs of Reproduction in a Pure Capital Breeder, the Children’s PythonAntaresia childreni

Structural and Performance Costs of Reproduction in a Pure Capital Breeder, the Children’s PythonAntaresia childreni

Early experience shapes the development of behavioral repertoires of hatchling snakes

How to assess musculature and performance in a constricting snake? A case study in the Colombian rainbow boa ( Epicrates cenchria maurus )

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