Influence of Prey Scent on Chemosensory Behavior of Two Fossorial Earthsnakes: Conopsis biserialis and Conopsis nasus (Serpentes: Colubridae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Raya-García ◽  
Javier Alvarado-Díaz ◽  
Ireri Suazo-Ortuño
Keyword(s):  
Chemosensory Behavior

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of static and fluctuating ocean acidification on the behavior of Amphiprion percula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Vaughan ◽  
Danielle L. Dixson
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Amphiprion Percula ◽  
Behavioral Abnormalities ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Ground Truthing ◽  
Chemosensory Behavior ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCoral reef organisms are exposed to both an increasing magnitude of pCO2, and natural fluctuations on a diel scale. For coral reef fishes, one of the most profound effects of ocean acidification is the impact on ecologically important behaviors. Previous behavioral research has primarily been conducted under static pCO2 conditions and have recently come under criticism. Recent studies have provided evidence that the negative impacts on behavior may be reduced under more environmentally realistic, fluctuating conditions. We investigated the impact of both present and future day, static (500 and 1000 μatm) and diel fluctuating (500 ± 200 and 1000 ± 200 μatm) pCO2 on the lateralization and chemosensory behavior of juvenile anemonefish, Amphiprion percula. Our static experimental comparisons support previous findings that under elevated pCO2, fish become un-lateralized and lose the ability to discriminate olfactory cues. Diel-fluctuating pCO2 may aid in mitigating the severity of some behavioral abnormalities such as the chemosensory response, where a preference for predator cues was significantly reduced under a future diel-fluctuating pCO2 regime. This research aids in ground truthing earlier findings and contributes to our growing knowledge of the role of fluctuating conditions.

scholarly journals The fluid dynamical context of chemosensory behavior

2000 ◽  
Vol 198 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Weissburg
Keyword(s):  
Chemosensory Behavior

Tandem evolution of diet and chemosensory responses in snakes

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Infrared Detection ◽  
Paired Comparisons ◽  
Geographic Differences ◽  
Chemosensory Response ◽  
Tongue Flicking ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Chemosensory Behavior ◽  
Thamnophis Elegans

Abstract Adaptations to foraging requirements have molded sensory capacities of animals in intriguing and sometimes spectacular ways, including evolution of echolocation by bats and infrared detection by pitvipers, as well as of location of prey using lingually sampled chemical cues by actively foraging lizards. Among snakes, specialized diets and geographic differences in diets have evolved many times. Because snakes identify prey by vomerolfactory analysis of chemicals sampled by tongue-flicking, it may be predicted that responsiveness to lingually sampled chemical cues corresponds to diet: It should be much stronger to prey included in than excluded from specialized diets and should covary with geographic dietary differences in prey generalists. Breeding studies in Thamnophis elegans showed that greater responsiveness to local prey in populations having geographically variable diets has a heritable component. Whether strong chemosensory response evolves to match current diet has not been established for snakes using the comparative method. For all paired comparisons of dietary change now available, chemosensory behavior changed so that strongest responses were limited to cues from the current prey. Because diets were specialized and snakes were ingestively naive hatchlings in almost all comparisons, the basis for observed relationships is innate rather than experiential. Snake chemosensory responses have evolved to match current diets.

Chemical communication in lizards and a potential role for vasotocin in modulating social interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M Campos ◽  
Selma S Belkasim
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Chemical Communication ◽  
Chemical Signals ◽  
Arginine Vasotocin ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Chemosensory Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Lizards use chemical communication to mediate many reproductive, competitive, and social behaviors, but the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying chemical communication in lizards are not well understood and understudied. By implementing a neuroendocrine approach to the study of chemical communication in reptiles, we can address a major gap in our knowledge of the evolutionary mechanisms shaping chemical communication in vertebrates. The neuropeptide arginine vasotocin (AVT) and its mammalian homologue vasopressin are responsible for a broad spectrum of diversity in competitive and reproductive strategies in many vertebrates, mediating social behavior through the chemosensory modality. In this review, we posit that, though limited, the available data on AVT-mediated chemical communication in lizards reveals intriguing patterns that suggest AVT plays a more prominent role in lizard chemosensory behavior than previously appreciated. We argue that these results warrant more research into the mechanisms used by AVT to modify the performance of chemosensory behavior and responses to conspecific chemical signals. We first provide a broad overview of the known social functions of chemical signals in lizards, the glandular sources of chemical signal production in lizards (e.g., epidermal secretory glands), and the chemosensory detection methods and mechanisms used by lizards. Then, we review the locations of vasotocinergic populations and neuronal projections in lizard brains, as well as sites of peripheral receptors for AVT in lizards. Finally, we end with a case study in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis), discussing findings from recently published work on the impact of AVT in adult males on chemosensory communication during social interactions, adding new data from a similar study in which we tested the impact of AVT on chemosensory behavior of adult females. We offer concluding remarks on addressing several fundamental questions regarding the role of AVT in chemosensory communication and social behavior in lizards.

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