Graduate Program
Biological Sciences
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Semester of Degree Completion
2011
Thesis Director
Stephen Mullin
Thesis Committee Member
Ann Fritz
Thesis Committee Member
Kip McGilliard
Abstract
Studies of animal behavior in captivity are limited in their ability to explain the influence of a natural environment on behavioral ecology. Defensive behaviors vary among individual animals, between sexes and with age, as well as with other less well-known factors. The toxin-rich diet of many toad-eating snakes might enable or cause their passive terminal defensive behavior of death-feigning. I videotaped death-feigning behavior in wild Plains Hog-Nosed Snakes (Heterodon nasicus) subjected to standardized harassment. Using stable isotopes, I also described the diet of the same individuals subjected to behavioral analysis (n = 40). Heterodon had broader diets than other snakes at the study site. Both diet and behavior differed between sexes and age classes. Male H. nasicus death-feigned for longer than females, but initiated death-feigning later. Female H. nasicus had more specialized diets than males; adults of both sexes consumed mostly turtle eggs during the study period, while juveniles fed on Six-lined Racerunners and their eggs. Residual individual variation in behavior might be attributable to diet or to other factors. Further research is necessary to elucidate the complex relationship between diet and behavior in toad-eating snakes.
Recommended Citation
Durso, Andrew Michael, "Interactions of diet and behavior in a death-feigning snake (Heterodon nasicus)" (2011). Masters Theses. 47.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/47
