OPUS: Serpentine Perspectives on the Evolution of Predator-prey Relationships

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Snakes represent a major vertebrate radiation, with more than 3,400 species occupying diverse habitats on all major non-polar landmasses. Unusual feeding adaptations that allow these animals to consume over 100% of their body weight in a single meal have been critical in generating snake biodiversity. Snakes can rapidly increase the size of their digestive tracts and hearts, and have evolved injectable venoms that immobilize and digest their prey, however we lack detailed analyses of diet for even many widespread, common species. This project will gather and synthesize ~7500 diet records on 66 species in eight major lineages, and then analyze seasonal, size-related, and geographic variation in each species' diet. Statistical comparisons will then be used to infer evolutionary and ecological diet patterns among species, as well as to explore potential biomedical and conservation implications. The analysis will lead to a synthesis in a scholarly volume, Predator-prey Relationships: a Serpentine Perspective, to be submitted to a university press. The data will be made available to researchers and the general public to stimulate further research on the evolutionary ecology of snakes and predator-prey relationships. The organization and synthesis of these data will create valuable resources for the research community and will have the potential to expand scientific knowledge of predator-prey relationships over space and time. Both the published synthesis and the data will serve as benchmarks against which snake diets can be understood in the context of global climate change, shifts in species ranges, and planning management regimes. The book and archived data will be of interest not only to evolutionary ecologists and conservationists, but also to zookeepers, herpetoculturists, and interested lay naturalists. This project will contribute to the training of two undergraduates and will include public outreach presentations by the investigator.