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Swimming and pregnancy in Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus

Swimming and pregnancy in Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus Swimming and pregnancy in Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus Fabien Aubret 1,2,3 , Xavier Bonnet 1 , Richard Shine 4 , Stéphanie Maumelat 2 Reduced locomotor ability may increase sus- ceptibility to predation and hence may repre- sent a proximate mechanism by which “costs” of reproduction are expressed (Shine, 1980). In squamate reptiles, many examples of such ef- fects have been documented, where non-gravid females and/or males showed higher survival rates than gravid females (Shine, 1980; Andren, 1982, 1985; Madsen, 1987). For instance, preg- nancy may entail a reduction in locomotor per- formances in lizards and snakes (Shine, 1980; Shine, 2003; Bauwens and Thoen, 1981; Gar- land and Else, 1987; Seigel et al., 1987), in- cluding decreased burst speed by 12 to 30%, and endurance by 52 to 55%. Because fleeing from predators or foraging ability depends on speed and/or stamina, reduced locomotor per- formance resulting from carrying offspring may result in increased risk of predation and/or de- creased energy intake compared to non-gravid females. However, less clear is the effect of preg- nancy on aquatic locomotion. Many snakes inhabit aquatic environments such as rivers, lakes, swamps, mangroves, or oceans (Voris and Jayne, 1979; Voris and Karns, 1996; Jayne et http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Amphibia-Reptilia Brill

Swimming and pregnancy in Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus

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References (27)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0173-5373
eISSN
1568-5381
DOI
10.1163/156853805774408559
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Swimming and pregnancy in Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus Fabien Aubret 1,2,3 , Xavier Bonnet 1 , Richard Shine 4 , Stéphanie Maumelat 2 Reduced locomotor ability may increase sus- ceptibility to predation and hence may repre- sent a proximate mechanism by which “costs” of reproduction are expressed (Shine, 1980). In squamate reptiles, many examples of such ef- fects have been documented, where non-gravid females and/or males showed higher survival rates than gravid females (Shine, 1980; Andren, 1982, 1985; Madsen, 1987). For instance, preg- nancy may entail a reduction in locomotor per- formances in lizards and snakes (Shine, 1980; Shine, 2003; Bauwens and Thoen, 1981; Gar- land and Else, 1987; Seigel et al., 1987), in- cluding decreased burst speed by 12 to 30%, and endurance by 52 to 55%. Because fleeing from predators or foraging ability depends on speed and/or stamina, reduced locomotor per- formance resulting from carrying offspring may result in increased risk of predation and/or de- creased energy intake compared to non-gravid females. However, less clear is the effect of preg- nancy on aquatic locomotion. Many snakes inhabit aquatic environments such as rivers, lakes, swamps, mangroves, or oceans (Voris and Jayne, 1979; Voris and Karns, 1996; Jayne et

Journal

Amphibia-Reptilia – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2005

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