BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2009 Diet of Sistrurus catenatus in Ontario and Ohio: Effects of Body Size and Habitat
Patrick J. Weatherhead, Jenny M. Knox, Daniel S. Harvey, Doug Wynn, James Chiucchi, H. Lisle Gibbs
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Knowing what venomous snakes eat is relevant both to their conservation and to understanding the functional diversity of their venom proteins. We used fecal samples to quantify the diet of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in Ontario and Ohio. Small mammals comprised almost the entire diet of both populations, collectively comprising 13 species, five of which were common to both populations. Consistent with their habitat use, Ontario snakes ate both forest and field mammals. The unexpected occurrence of Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) in the Ohio samples suggested that those snakes either moved out of the fields in which they were caught to feed, or encountered chipmunks dispersing along fencerows. Large snakes did not drop small prey species from their diets and the occurrence of large prey species in diets indicates that juvenile small mammals are important prey. Limited effects of snake size on diet composition suggest that ontogenetic shifts in venom composition are unlikely to occur in the Eastern Massasauga. The similarity of diets between populations makes it unlikely that populations differ in venom composition because of local adaptation of venom proteins to different suites of prey.

Patrick J. Weatherhead, Jenny M. Knox, Daniel S. Harvey, Doug Wynn, James Chiucchi, and H. Lisle Gibbs "Diet of Sistrurus catenatus in Ontario and Ohio: Effects of Body Size and Habitat," Journal of Herpetology 43(4), 693-697, (1 December 2009). https://doi.org/10.1670/08-244.1
Accepted: 1 January 2009; Published: 1 December 2009
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top