Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Laboratory observations of trailing behavior in garter snakes.

J Kubie, M Halpern

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

|September 1, 1975

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Mixed method evaluation of a clinic waiting room-based health education program in the Dominican Republic.

Health education research·2023

Same author

Improved Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves using Planck, WMAP, and BICEP/Keck Observations through the 2018 Observing Season.

Physical review letters·2021

Same author

On the redshift distribution and physical properties of ACT-selected DSFGs.

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·2020

Same author

Drug use, sexual risk, and structural vulnerability among female sex workers in two urban centers of the Dominican Republic: The EPIC study.

Drug and alcohol dependence·2020

Same author

Sub-Kelvin cooling for two kilopixel bolometer arrays in the PIPER receiver.

The Review of scientific instruments·2019

Same author

Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure due to Yellow Fever: A Case Report.

Transplantation proceedings·2019

Same journal

Conditioned responses in young puppies.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2014

Same journal

The effects of glutamic acid on the behavior of the white rat.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2010

Same journal

Prediction and automatic control of alertness; control of look-out alertness.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2010

Same journal

Electroconvulsive shock in rats under ether anesthesia.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2010

Same journal

Simple reaction chains and their integration; heterogeneous chaining with terminal reinforcement.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2010

Same journal

Left-right tendency in the hermit crab, Clibinarius zebra Dana.

Journal of comparative and physiological psychology·2010

See all related articles

Garter snakes learned to follow scent trails, with individual tongue flick rates remaining consistent during training. Running speed and tongue flick rate showed a significant correlation in this study.

Area of Science:

Ethology
Behavioral Ecology

Background:

Chemosensory investigation is crucial for reptile foraging.
Garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) utilize vomeronasal organ-mediated sensing for prey detection.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the learning capabilities of garter snakes in following olfactory trails.
To analyze the consistency and correlation of tongue flicking behavior with learning and locomotion.

Main Methods:

Utilized a Y-maze apparatus for olfactory trail-following tasks.
Trained nine garter snakes using earthworm extract as a scent trail.
Quantified tongue flick rate and running speed during training trials.

Main Results:

Snakes demonstrated significant improvement in trail following accuracy over training.

Related Experiment Videos

All subjects achieved a criterion of 80% correct trials.

Individual tongue flick rates were consistent, and significantly correlated with running speed.

Conclusions:

Garter snakes exhibit robust olfactory learning abilities.
Tongue flick rate is a stable individual characteristic and a reliable indicator of snake activity levels during foraging behavior.