Functional diversity of snake locomotor behaviors: A review of the biological literature for bioinspiration

Tingle, Jessica L.; Garner, Kelsey L.; Astley, Henry C.

doi:10.1111/nyas.15109

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 313 publications

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“…In this context, it is important to take into consideration the variation in ecological and behavioral traits when assessing the effects of temperature on reptile physiology. This is of particular relevance when working with snakes, which are a very diverse group, both in species richness and functional diversity ( Tingle, Garner & Astley, 2024 ). Despite the great diversity present in Mexico ( Flores-Villela & García-Vázquez, 2014 ; Ramírez-Bautista et al, 2023 ), to our knowledge, there has been no study focusing on the thermal sensitivity of physiological traits in Mexican snakes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological thermal responses of three Mexican snakes with distinct lifestyles

Figueroa-Huitrón,

Díaz de la Vega-Pérez,

Plasman

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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The impact of temperature on reptile physiology has been examined through two main parameters: locomotor performance and metabolic rates. Among reptiles, different species may respond to environmental temperatures in distinct ways, depending on their thermal sensitivity. Such variation can be linked to the ecological lifestyle of the species and needs to be taken into consideration when assessing the thermal influence on physiology. This is particularly relevant for snakes, which are a very functionally diverse group. In this study, our aim was to analyze the thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in three snake species from central Mexico (Crotalus polystictus, Conopsis lineata, and Thamnophis melanogaster), highlighting how it is influenced by their distinctive behavioral and ecological traits. We tested both physiological parameters in five thermal treatments: 15 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, 33 °C, and 36 °C. Using the performance data, we developed thermal performance curves (TPCs) for each species and analyzed the RMR data using generalized linear mixed models. The optimal temperature for locomotion of C. polystictus falls near its critical thermal maximum, suggesting that it can maintain performance at high temperatures but with a narrow thermal safety margin. T. melanogaster exhibited the fastest swimming speeds and the highest mass-adjusted RMR. This aligns with our expectations since it is an active forager, a high energy demand mode. The three species have a wide performance breadth, which suggests that they are thermal generalists that can maintain performance over a wide interval of temperatures. This can be beneficial to C. lineata in its cold habitat, since such a characteristic has been found to allow some species to maintain adequate performance levels in suboptimal temperatures. RMR increased along with temperature, but the proportional surge was not uniform since thermal sensitivity measured through Q10 increased at the low and high thermal treatments. High Q10 at low temperatures could be an adaptation to maintain favorable performance in suboptimal temperatures, whereas high Q10 at high temperatures could facilitate physiological responses to heat stress. Overall, our results show different physiological adaptations of the three species to the environments they inhabit. Their different activity patterns and foraging habits are closely linked to these adaptations. Further studies of other populations with different climatic conditions would provide valuable information to complement our current understanding of the effect of environmental properties on snake physiology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%