The Influence of Habitat Variation on Snake Body Temperature and Behavior on Konza Prairie An understanding of how snake behavior is influenced by tallgrass prairie

and Marshall College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; [email protected] A proteomic analysis of temperature acclimation and heat stress in blue mussel (Mytilus) congeners The blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (M.g.) is invasive along the southern California coast, and has displaced the native M. trossulus (M.t.) there. Physiological and biochemical evidence suggest that M.g. may out-compete M.t. due to relative warm adaptation. Here, we use a proteomics approach to examine the cellular responses of gill from the two species to acclimation temperature (7 or 13C) followed by acute heat shock (HS; 32C). Using two-dimensional electrophoresis, in-gel digestion and mass spectrometry, we have found that the two species respond to acclimation and to HS differently. We identified a series of HS protein (HSP) 70 isoforms that are up-regulated significantly (ANOVA; p < 0.05) in M.g. after HS, whether acclimated to 7 or 13C. The same isoforms are up-regulated after HS in M.t. acclimated to 7C, but they are not up-regulated after HS in M.t. acclimated to 13C. In acclimated animals that did not experience HS, M.t. acclimated to 13C have higher levels of HSP70s than do M.g. acclimated to 13C. Levels are similar in M.g. acclimated to 7 or 13C, and M.t. acclimated to 7C. We have also identified four HSP24 isoforms in both species, two of which are expressed in a pattern similar to that of HSP70s. The other two HSP24s, while showing up-regulation after HS in M.g. acclimated to 13C, show no response in M.t. to HS at either acclimation temperature. These results suggest that M.g. produces a more robust HS response than M.t. after acclimation to 13C, and that the response of M.t. to acclimation at 7C is in some ways similar to the response of M.g. at 13C. Currently, we are using the expression profiles of HSP70 and HSP24 isoforms in the two species to search for other proteins that also are up-regulated in response to acclimation or HS. 91.5 FILL, J.F.*; KLUG, P.; SANDERCOCK, B.K.; University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kansas State University; [email protected] The Influence of Habitat Variation on Snake Body Temperature and Behavior on Konza Prairie An understanding of how snake behavior is influenced by tallgrass prairie management (burning and grazing) is critical in understanding how these animals will respond to the anthropogenic changes to the ecosystem, and how this may affect their predatory relationship with grassland birds. My objective was to investigate the influence of burning and grazing on snake behavior. To do this I looked at the relationship between snake body temperature and habitat structure resulting from experimental grazing and burning treatments on Konza Prairie. I radiotracked yellow-bellied racers (Coluber constrictor) and Great Plains ratsnakes (Pantherophis emoryi) on Konza Prairie from June to August, recording body temperature and both watershed (treatment type) and habitat at each location. ANOVA results showed that body temperature differed significantly between species (P<0.0001) and within each species it differed among snakes located in grassland, edge, forest, and shrubby draws (ratsnake: P=0.02 and racer: P=0.0036). Contrary to the expected habitat associations of racers with grassland and ratsnakes with edge (based on preferred body temperature of the species), I found racers using shrubby draws more often in less frequently burned areas while ratsnakes exhibited no outstanding trend. Based on the correlation between body and litter temperatures in the racer (r2=0.48) and between body and under-rock temperatures in the ratsnake (r2=0.50), I conclude that behavioral use of habitat in the racer is more strongly affected by management due to alteration of substrate by burning. While differences in use of macrohabitats may also be a result of foraging strategy, availability of macrohabitat, or predator avoidance, these results represent a reaction to alteration of the landscape that may have important implications for biodiversity conservation.