Date of Graduation
Winter 2024
Degree
Master of Science in Biology
Department
Biology
Committee Chair
Brian Greene
Abstract
Chemosensation is central to snake ecology, playing an essential role in predator recognition, foraging success, and communication with conspecifics. In areas with cold winters, neonatal snakes often trail chemical cues from older individuals to locate communal hibernacula essential for winter survival. Juvenile Northern Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) form social bonds with littermates and have been shown to trail chemical cues of conspecifics in the fall. However, the effect of relatedness on trailing phenomena has not been tested. Using y-maze experiments I evaluated trailing behavior of 32 captive-born neonate Northern Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) to determine if (1) subjects prefer to trail siblings over non-relatives, and (2) whether cottonmouths would also trail cues of a closely related species, the copperhead (A. contortrix). In the conspecific trailing experiment, a non-significant majority of individuals trailed their siblings’ cues over an unrelated conspecific neonate. The heterospecific trailing experiment showed that neonatal cottonmouths did not respond to copperhead cues, with equal numbers of subjects selecting the copperhead versus blank control cues. Copperheads and cottonmouths are occasionally observed hibernating together; however, this does not appear to be a result of heterospecific scent trailing. My results suggest that females may preferentially follow kin, though larger samples would be needed to provide strong evidence.
Keywords
scent trailing, chemical cues, conspecific, Agkistrodon piscivorus, chemosensation
Subject Categories
Biology
Copyright
© Samantha R. Grove
Recommended Citation
Grove, Samantha R., "Scent Trailing in Neonate Agkistrodon Piscivorus When Exposed to Conspecific and Heterospecific Chemical Cues" (2024). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 4025.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/4025
