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Title
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Responses of the lizard **Lacerta vivipara** to predator chemical cues : the effects of temperature
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Author
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Abstract
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| The thermal dependence of chemoreceptive and behavioural responses of the lizard Lacerta vivipara to chemical cues of the predatory snake Vipera berus were studied. The lizards were observed in cages that had previously been inhabited by a viper and their behaviour was compared with that of lizards in unfamiliar, but clean cages. The lizards' body temperatures were controlled by placing the cages in environmental chambers. Although tongue-flick rates were clearly temperature-dependent, snake chemicals elicited increased tongue-flick rates at all temperatures (2035°C). Body temperature therefore seems to influence the intensity of chemosensory examination, but does not seem to affect its function within the temperature range considered. Snake chemical cues also induced a shift in general behaviour of the lizards. When confronted with the stimuli, they changed their normal behaviour (an alternation of activity bouts and basking) towards long periods of immobility, interrupted by jerky, hesitant walks. The effects of temperature on this reaction primarily concerned thermoregulatory behaviour: in the control experiments, basking was prolonged at low temperatures whereas in the viper experiments, it lasted longer at high temperatures. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Animal behaviour. - London
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Publication
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London
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1990
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ISSN
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0003-3472
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DOI
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10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80924-8
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Volume/pages
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40
:2
(1990)
, p. 298-305
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ISI
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A1990DV98900009
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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