27th Annual Student Research Conference
Effect of Body Size, Foraging Mode, Temperature, Diel Cycle, Climate, and Season on Resting Metabolic Rate of Three Small Colubrids: Diadophis punctatus, Storeria dekayi, and Virginia valeriae
Corinna A. Warnars♦
Dr. Chad Montgomery, Faculty Mentor
Energetic cost of maintenance is an important component of life history that can account for a significant portion of total energy expenditure. Maintenance is affected by a suite of variables, including body size, temperature, foraging mode, phylogeny, ontogeny, season, and climate. Our understanding of the influence of these variables in snakes is limited to larger bodied species. Therefore, my objective is to examine the effects of body size, temperature, and season on the maintenance costs of three small-bodied snake species from Adair County, Missouri. Due to acclimation to temperate climate in these species, I expect they will show a strong response to temperature and season that is indicative of cold acclimation. Understanding the effects of temperature on maintenance costs in snakes may add to our understanding of geographic variation and physiological adjustments for dealing with suboptimal environmental conditions.
Keywords: Life History, Resting Metabolic Rate, Colubrid, Maintenance
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-2
Location: GEO - SUB
Time: 3:30