The use of ground-borne vibrations for prey localization in the Saharan sand vipers (Cerastes)

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (5) ◽  
pp. 661-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Young ◽  
Malinda Morain
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Target Acquisition ◽  
Vibration Detection ◽  
Prey Localization ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Strike Angle ◽  
Prey Capture Behavior

SUMMARYSand vipers of the genus Cerastes are specialized semi-fossorial snakes that launch predatory strikes at rodents and lizards while partially buried in the soft sand of the Saharan desert. This study attempted to document which environmental stimuli are used by these snakes as a trigger for the ambush behavior. Denervating the olfactory and vomeronasal organs produced no changes in prey capture behavior in Cerastes cerastes. Occluding the eyes of the denervated specimens resulted in significant decreases in strike distance, diversity of strike angle and strike accuracy, demonstrating the importance of visual stimuli for target acquisition in this species. Nevertheless, every olfactory-denervated, temporarily blinded specimen succeeded in capturing free-ranging mice in every trial. Presentation of chemosensory-neutral targets to the olfactory-denervated, temporarily blinded specimens resulted in similar predatory behaviors, whether the target was isothermic to the environment or heated to mammalian body temperature. Collectively, these results provide evidence for the importance of visual stimuli during foraging in C. cerastes, the first experimental evidence for foraging by vibration detection in snakes and the strongest evidence to date that snakes are capable of ‘hearing’ vibrational stimuli.

scholarly journals The influence of weather conditions on body temperature, milk composition and yields of the free-ranging dromedary camels in Southeastern rangelands of Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1930932
Author(s):  
Matiwos Habte ◽  
Mitiku Eshetu ◽  
Melesse Maryo ◽  
Dereje Andualem ◽  
Abiyot Legesse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Milk Composition ◽  
Dromedary Camels ◽  
Free Ranging

What's hot and what's not: defining torpor in free-ranging birds and mammals

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1885-1890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert MR Barclay ◽  
Cori L Lausen ◽  
Lydia Hollis
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
The Body ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
The Past ◽  
Data Loggers ◽  
Temperature Thresholds ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Lowered Body

With the development of small implantable data loggers and externally attached temperature-sensitive radio transmitters, increasing attention is being paid to determining the thermoregulatory strategies of free-ranging birds and mammals. One of the constraints of such studies is that without a direct measure of metabolic rate, it is difficult to determine the significance of lowered body temperatures. We surveyed the literature and found that many different definitions have been used to discriminate torpor from normothermy. Many studies use arbitrary temperature thresholds without regard for the normothermic body temperature of the individuals or species involved. This variation makes comparison among studies difficult and means that ecologically and energetically significant small reductions in body temperature may be overlooked. We suggest that normothermic body temperature for each individual animal should be determined and that torpor be defined as occurring when the body temperature drops below that level. When individuals' active temperatures are not available, a species-specific value should be used. Of greater value, however, are the depth and duration of torpor bouts. We suggest several advantages of this definition over those used in the past.

scholarly journals Interspecific variation in prey capture behavior by co-occurringNepenthespitcher plants

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e27930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijin Chin ◽  
Arthur YC Chung ◽  
Charles Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Prey Capture Behavior

scholarly journals A versatile telemetry system for continuous measurement of heart rate, body temperature and locomotor activity in free-ranging ruminants

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Signer ◽  
Thomas Ruf ◽  
Franz Schober ◽  
Gerhard Fluch ◽  
Thomas Paumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Continuous Measurement ◽  
Telemetry System ◽  
Free Ranging

Relationship between daily body temperature and activity patterns of free-ranging feral cats in Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 270-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Hilmer ◽  
Dave Algar ◽  
Martin Plath ◽  
Elke Schleucher
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Free Ranging

Automated Recordings of Body Temperature from Free-Ranging Yellow-Bellied Marmots

1970 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry F. Downhower ◽  
J. Donald Pauley
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Free Ranging

Body temperature patterns during natural fevers in a herd of free-ranging impala (Aepyceros melampus)

2001 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Kamerman ◽  
A. Fuller ◽  
A. S. Faurie ◽  
G. Mitchell ◽  
D. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Aepyceros Melampus

Body temperature fluctuations in free-ranging eastern foxsnakes (Elaphe gloydi) during cold-water swimming

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie A MacKinnon ◽  
Anna Lawson ◽  
E D Stevens ◽  
Ronald J Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Clear Trend ◽  
Thermal Biology ◽  
Rapid Temperature ◽  
Free Ranging

We examined the thermal biology of free-ranging terrestrial eastern foxsnakes (Elaphe gloydi Conant, 1940) that were voluntarily swimming in cold water during spring, in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. Using temperature-sensitive radiotelemetry, we recorded body temperatures of foxsnakes during 12 cold-water swims, and subsequent warming on shore. During these swims, water temperatures were from 11 to 22 °C and distances of 85–1330 m were travelled. Snakes that were in cold water long enough equilibrated with water temperature and did not maintain a body temperature above ambient. The largest observed drop in body temperature was 22.6 °C (over 11 min) and the largest increase was 23 °C (over 66 min). Such large, rapid temperature fluctuations have not previously been reported in detail from snakes in the field. Twice as many telemetry observations as expected occurred between 1200 and 1400, suggesting that snakes chose to swim midday. Additionally, our results suggest that foxsnakes bask to raise their body temperature prior to swimming in cold water. We compared swimming speed and the coefficient of temperature change among foxsnakes and other snake species. Swimming speed was positively correlated with water temperature, similar to other findings. We found no clear trend between mass and the coefficients of cooling and warming; however, snakes cooled in water 2.8–8.6 times faster than they warmed in air.

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