29th Annual Student Research Conference
Effect of meal size on specific dynamic action of Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon)
Jake Friebohle
Dr. Chad Montgomery and Dr. Phil Ryan, Faculty Mentors
Specific dynamic action (SDA) is the energy that the body expends during the progress of digestion. Several factors can alter the SDA of organisms including meal size, meal type, sex, age, body size, life history, and environmental conditions. For this study we determined the effect of meal size and predator body mass on the SDA of Northern Watersnake?s (Nerodia sipedon). The meal sizes that were used included a ten percent body mass meal of minnows and a twenty percent body mass of minnows. The results supported previous studies that meal size effects SDA with a positive correlation between SDA and mass of snakes and the ten percent meal size costing significantly less energy than in the twenty percent meal.
Keywords: Specific dynamic action (SDA), respirometer, snout vent length, digestive uptake, life history, resting metabolic rate
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-
Location: GEO-SUB
Time: