Foraging Ecology and Prey Size in the Mangrove Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata compressicauda

Copeia ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 1990 (4) ◽  
pp. 1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Miller ◽  
Henry R. Mushinsky
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Nerodia Fasciata ◽  
Water Snake

Ontogeny of Water Snake Foraging Ecology

Ecology ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry R. Mushinsky ◽  
James J. Hebrard ◽  
Darrell S. Vodopich
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Water Snake

Interspecific relationships between two species of sympatric Afrotropical water snake in relation to a seasonally fluctuating food resource

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Luiselli
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Snake Species ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Increased Activity

In this paper, the ecological relationships and the resource partitioning patterns in a two-species system of sympatric aquatic snakes (Grayia smythii and Afronatrix anoscopus) from a riverine forest area in southern Nigeria, West Africa, were tested. The monthly availability of their food resources in the field, and the monthly variation in the feeding relationships between these snakes and their preys, were also studied. Food items of 1245 snakes, i.e. 554 Grayia smythii, and 691 Afronatrix anoscopus, were examined. The mean body length of Grayia smythii was significantly larger than that of Afronatrix anoscopus in any interspecific comparison, i.e. males versus males, females versus females, and females versus males; however, in both species the females attained significantly larger body sizes than the males. 676 prey items were obtained from the stomachs of Afronatrix anoscopus, and 390 from those of Grayia smythii. Both species of snake exhibited an increased activity in the open during the wet months, and this increased activity was positively correlated to the higher abundance of prey during the wet season. In both species the diet consisted of a great variety of different amphibian and fish species. Direct interference competition was not observed. The month-by-month dietary patterns exhibited by the two snake species were similar. Mean prey size was significantly larger in the larger species, and the difference in prey size between the two snake species increased during the dry season, i.e. during the period of reduced prey availability. The monthly availability of the three main food types for these snakes varied, and were significantly more abundant during the wet season (April–September). A positive relationship between prey availability and prey use by snakes strongly suggests that the two snake species are predatory generalists, utilizing prey in relation to their abundance in the field.

The Function of Oscillatory Tongue-Flicks in Snakes: Insights from Kinematics of Tongue-Flicking in the Banded Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata)

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 883-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Daghfous ◽  
M. Smargiassi ◽  
P.-A. Libourel ◽  
R. Wattiez ◽  
V. Bels
Keyword(s):  
Nerodia Fasciata ◽  
Water Snake ◽  
Tongue Flicking ◽  
Tongue Flicks

scholarly journals Hide and seek in the Bay of Biscay—a functional investigation of marine megafauna and small pelagic fish interactions

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Lambert ◽  
Matthieu Authier ◽  
Mathieu Doray ◽  
Ghislain Dorémus ◽  
Jérome Spitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Spatial Correlations ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Prey Biomass ◽  
Common Dolphins

AbstractPrey and predator distributions influence one another. Understanding the scale and the orientation of predator–prey spatial correlations is crucial in foraging ecology. Growing evidence suggests that predator–prey interactions are more constrained by functional characteristics of both the predator and the prey. Unfortunately, in marine pelagic systems, the scale and orientation of spatial correlations between predators and prey have been only little explored from a functional point of view. We tested the existence of fine-scale association between predators and fish functional groups. Visual predator sightings and acoustic fish records were collected synchronously during oceanographic surveys from 2004 to 2014. Prey biomass was integrated by nautical miles and split into four size classes (<10 cm; 10–20 cm; 20–30 cm; >30 cm) and two depth layers (surface, deep). We computed the relative biomass by prey size and depth category from 0 to 12 nm around predator sightings to determine the predators’ proximity to local prey biomass. Two cetaceans (common, bottlenose dolphins) and three seabirds (northern gannets, auks, northern fulmars) were studied. No association was found in fulmars, indicating they probably do not feed on considered fishes in the area. Gannets and auks were positively correlated with local prey biomass for sizes <20 cm at both depth layers. Significant negative relationships were found between common dolphins and prey size classes <20 cm at both depth layers, and between bottlenose dolphins and all size ranges at the deeper layer. Our results suggest that the fine-scale spatial overlap of predator and prey is influenced by their functional traits, and that prey exhibit predator avoidance behaviour in presence of swimming predators but not of flying ones.

The functional meaning of “prey size” in water snakes (Nerodia fasciata, Colubridae)

Oecologia ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Vincent ◽  
B. R. Moon ◽  
R. Shine ◽  
A. Herrel
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Nerodia Fasciata ◽  
Water Snakes

Foraging ecology of the Tokay gecko, Gekko gecko in a residential area in Thailand

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anchalee Aowphol ◽  
Kumthorn Thirakhupt ◽  
Jarujin Nabhitabhata ◽  
Harold K. Voris
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Optimal Foraging Theory ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Emergence Time ◽  
Wildlife Sanctuary ◽  
Gekko Gecko ◽  
Tokay Gecko

Abstract The foraging behavior of Gekko gecko was observed at the visitor complex of the Khao Khiao Open Zoo at the Khao Khiao-Khao Chomphu Wildlife Sanctuary in Chon Buri Province, Thailand. Foraging parameters of G. gecko (foraging period, time spent moving, foraging attempts, foraging success, prey size consumed, and foraging distance) did not vary significantly between males, females, and juveniles. Individuals foraged between 18:01 and 09:00 hrs. Peak emergence time was between 18:01 and 20:00 hrs. Peak retreat time was between 04:01 and 07:00 hrs. Major food items included insects of the orders Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, and Coleoptera. Prey sizes of males, females, and juveniles were not significantly different, indicating no prey size selection. This may have been due to low insect availability in the habitat. Gekko gecko tended to be a sit-and-wait forager spending most of the time waiting for active prey. However, it sometimes foraged more actively when insect abundance was relatively high. Foraging behavior of males tended to be more variable than females and juveniles. In addition, variation in foraging parameters among individuals was noted. Foraging strategies of G. gecko observed in this study are interpreted in the context of optimal foraging theory.

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