Overwinter Thermal Ecology of Crotalus viridis in the North-Central Plains of New Mexico

Jacob, James S.; Painter, Charles W.

doi:10.2307/1444459

Cited by 38 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Hawley and Aleksiuk, 1975;Hawley and Aleksiuk, 1976;Jacob and Painter, 1980;Crews and Garstka, 1982;Licht, 1984;Whittier et al, 1987a;Macartney et al, 1989;Grobman, 1990;Crawford, 1991). For example, Etheridge et al (Etheridge et al, 1983) demonstrated experimentally that increasing ambient temperatures stimulate emergence of the six-lined racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus) from winter dormancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endocrine mechanisms mediating temperature-induced reproductive behavior in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Lutterschmidt

Mason

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYWe investigated the mechanisms by which temperature induces seasonal reproductive behavior in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). Specifically, we addressed whether elevated temperatures during winter dormancy influence (1) diel melatonin and corticosterone rhythms; (2) sex steroid hormone and corticosterone profiles; and (3) the expression of reproductive behavior following emergence. Elevated hibernation temperatures (i.e. 10°C versus 5°C) significantly increased overall melatonin and decreased corticosterone concentrations of snakes. The temperature-induced differences in melatonin rhythms between the 5°C and 10°C treatment groups persisted even after both groups were again acclimated to 10°C, indicating that cold temperature exposure has a lasting influence on melatonin rhythms. Elevated hibernation temperatures also significantly altered androgen and corticosterone profiles of snakes, providing a potential mechanism to explain reported annual variation in steroid hormones. Although previous studies indicate that male red-sided garter snakes exhibit a dissociated reproductive strategy, we demonstrate the presence of intersexual variation in sex steroid hormone profiles, as estradiol concentrations of female snakes increased significantly prior to spring mating activity. Importantly, the percentage change in body mass did not differ significantly between snakes in the hibernation treatments, indicating that the observed changes in hormone profiles are indeed temperature induced and not simply an indirect result of significant changes in the energy balance of snakes. Finally, in males maintained at 10°C during winter dormancy the onset of courtship behavior following emergence was delayed. Our results suggest that environmental temperatures induce reproductive behavior, in part, via changes in diel melatonin and/or corticosterone rhythms in this seasonally breeding reptile.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endocrine mechanisms mediating temperature-induced reproductive behavior in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Lutterschmidt

Mason

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Most of our information on ecoof snakes in hibernation and that snakes position themselves logical aspects of snake hibernation has come from excavawithin the hibernaculum by moving in the direction of higher tions of natural hibernacula (see summaries in Brown temperatures along a surface-to-subsurface thermal gradient. 974; Jacob and Painter 1980). Recently, however, radioThus, snakes may situate themselves in warmer microsites telemetry has it possible to study some aspects of move-( P~~~~~~~~Y Or within the den during merits and temperature relationships of snakes in natural winter, and as the gradient becomes reversed (i-e-, surface warmer than subsurface) in spring, snakes may follow this thermal cline onto the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body temperatures and movements of hibernating snakes (Crotalus and Thamnophis) and thermal gradients of natural hibernacula

Macartney¹,

Larsen²,

Gregory³

1989

Can. J. Zool.

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1989. Body temperatures and movements of hibernating snakes (Crotalus and Thamnophis) and thermal gradients of natural hibernacula. Can. J. Zool. 67: [108][109][110][111][112][113][114]. Although temperate zone snakes spend a large part of each year in hibernation, we know relatively little about their behavior during this part of the annual cycle. We used radiotelemetry to monitor temperatures and movements of hibernating rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) in southern British Columbia and garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) in northern Alberta, and measured thermal profiles inside their hibernacula. A reference site near the garter snake hibernaculum, superficially resembling a winter den but not used by snakes, also was monitored. A thermal gradient (temperature increasing with depth) formed during the winter in the rattlesnake den, but only minimally so in the garter snake den. Differences in thermal profiles were attributed to differences in subsurface geomorphology. The reference site exhibited much greater temperature fluctuation than the den itself, with lethal temperatures prevailing throughout the winter. Therefore, suitable hibernation sites may be limited in some areas despite a superficial appearance of abundance. As ambient temperatures declined during early winter, snakes made lateral movements inside their hibernacula, and exhibited changes in body temperature which we interpreted as movements to warmer (deeper) microsites. Body temperatures recorded during winter ranged between 2 and 7°C. In early spring the thermal gradient collapsed and the rattlesnake den gradually underwent a uniform increase in temperature. A similar increase in subterranean temperatures occurred in the garter snake den. Temperature change was perhaps a stimulus for emergence in rattlesnakes, but possibly not in garter snakes. The hypothesis that hibernating snakes orient along a seasonally reversing thermal gradient is not unambiguously supported.MACARTNEY, J. M., LARSEN, K. W., et GREGORY, P. T. 1989. Body temperatures and movements of hibernating snakes (Crotalus and Thamnophis) and thermal gradients of natural hibernacula. Can. J. Zool. 67 : 108-114. Bien que les serpents de la zone tempkrke passent une grande partie de l'annke en hibernation, il exite peu d'informations sur leur comportement durant cette partie de leur cycle annuel. Nous avons utilisk des techniques de tklkmktrie pour mesurer la tempkrature et les dkplacements chez des serpents a sonnette (Crotalus viridis) du sud de la Colombie-Britannique et chez des Couleuvres raykes (Thamnophis sirtalis) du nord de 1'Alberta et nous avons ktabli leurs profils thermiques dans leur hibernaculum. Un site tkmoin non utilisk, voisin de l'hibernaculum des couleuvres et vaguement semblable, a kgalement etk soumis aux mesures. IJn gradient thermique (augmentation de la tempkrature en fonction de la profondeur) a kt6 observk durant l'hiver dans le terrier des serpents a sonnette, mais ce gradient ktait minimal dans le terrier des couleuvres. Les diffkrences entre les profils the...

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“…Brown and Parker (1976b) modified Woodbury's methodology to fulfill the eight criteria of Lewke and Stroud (1974) for a good marking method. The modified method is claimed to be satisfactory for at least four years and was used by Brown (1973), Brown and Parker (1974;, Henderson et al (1980), Jacob and Painter (1980) and Parker and Brown (1973;1974a-b (Brown, 1973) . This methodology appears superior for scale-clipping, although some ambiguity may occur such as misidentif ication of individual marks (Fitch, 1987) Ventral and subcaudal clipping (3) Fitch (1958,1960) proposed a combination of subcaudals and ventral scale clippings.…”

Section: Scale-clippingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Battery life ranges from a few days to several months. Orally inserted radiotransmitters have been used by Brown and Parker (1976a), Brown et al (1982), Fitch and Shirer (1971), Galligan and Dunson (1979) , Hammerson (1979) , Henderson et al (1976), Jacob and McDonald (1975), Jacob and Painter (1980), Johnson (1972), Landreth (1973), Montgomery and Rand (1978), Moore (1978), Nickerson et al (1978), Osgood (1970), , Reinert (1981) and Reinert and Kodrich (1982) Some disadvantages of this method are that the effective range of the transmitter is small, the transmitter may be regurgitated, and the transmitter in the stomach may cause behavioral changes in the snake. Fitch and Shirer (1971) tied a string around the body and sewed it to a ventral scale to prevent their snakes from losing the transmitters.…”

Section: Radiotelemetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of techniques for marking snakes

Lang¹

1992

Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service

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Overwinter Thermal Ecology of Crotalus viridis in the North-Central Plains of New Mexico

Cited by 38 publications

References 23 publications

Endocrine mechanisms mediating temperature-induced reproductive behavior in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Endocrine mechanisms mediating temperature-induced reproductive behavior in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Body temperatures and movements of hibernating snakes (Crotalus and Thamnophis) and thermal gradients of natural hibernacula

A review of techniques for marking snakes

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