Individual Presentation or Panel Title
Individual discrimination of human handlers by Eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Abstract
The ability to discriminate between individual humans has been shown in a variety of animals, which has both theoretical and practical implications. Hissing roaches habituated to handlers and hissed if handled by another person. When the original handler resumed contact, the hissing stopped, suggesting that discrimination between humans by an insect is possible. To our knowledge, no comparable experiments have been conducted with reptiles. Garter snakes show reliable habituation to both predatory and prey-related stimuli; thus, a habituation design is well suited for studying handler discrimination in snakes. Tongue flicks are a reliable gauge of a snake’s “interest” in its environment. We tested three hypotheses: 1) snakes would show a decrease in tongue flicks over time with their primary handler, 2) with the switch to a secondary handler, the snakes would have an increase in tongue flicks, and 3) there will then be a decrease in the number of tongue flicks when snakes are returned to their primary handler. Preliminary results show five out of eight snakes habituated to their primary handler and showed an increase in tongue flicks after switching to a secondary handler. Two of those five had a decrease in tongue flicks when returned to their original handler. Data collection is ongoing.
Location
Glass Dining Room
Start Date
21-4-2012 2:30 PM
End Date
21-4-2012 3:20 PM
Individual discrimination of human handlers by Eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Glass Dining Room
The ability to discriminate between individual humans has been shown in a variety of animals, which has both theoretical and practical implications. Hissing roaches habituated to handlers and hissed if handled by another person. When the original handler resumed contact, the hissing stopped, suggesting that discrimination between humans by an insect is possible. To our knowledge, no comparable experiments have been conducted with reptiles. Garter snakes show reliable habituation to both predatory and prey-related stimuli; thus, a habituation design is well suited for studying handler discrimination in snakes. Tongue flicks are a reliable gauge of a snake’s “interest” in its environment. We tested three hypotheses: 1) snakes would show a decrease in tongue flicks over time with their primary handler, 2) with the switch to a secondary handler, the snakes would have an increase in tongue flicks, and 3) there will then be a decrease in the number of tongue flicks when snakes are returned to their primary handler. Preliminary results show five out of eight snakes habituated to their primary handler and showed an increase in tongue flicks after switching to a secondary handler. Two of those five had a decrease in tongue flicks when returned to their original handler. Data collection is ongoing.
