Post-Strike Behavior of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) During Natural Predation Events

Laboratory studies are invaluable in the field of animal behavior because they offer experimenters the ability to conduct manipulations that cannot be easily accomplished in the field. However, laboratory experiments can be limited in their relevance to natural history and evolution. Numerous examples exist of field studies that fail to validate results that are robust in laboratory (Mappes et al. 1998; Mahady & Wolff 2002; Wolff 2003, 2004). Whenever possible, behavioral paradigms that have been developed in the laboratory should be tested in the field. Many venomous snakes feed by striking, injecting venom, and then immediately releasing prey, allowing prey items to flee until immobilized by venom. This strategy is thought to help snakes avoid retaliation by injured prey (Klauber 1972; Kardong 1986). Snakes subsequently locate prey by following the chemical trail left by the struck animal, a process known as strike-induced chemosensory searching (SICS). SICS is a robust phenomenon in many venomous and non-venomous snake species and has been the subject of numerous experimental investigations, making it a model system for predation behavior (reviewed by Chiszar et al. 1992; Withgott Correspondence Rulon W. Clark, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 14853-2702. E-mail: [email protected]