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Mammals as prey: estimating ingestible size.

Matthew Close1, David Cundall

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, USA. mclose@lehigh.edu

Journal of Morphology
|June 26, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Determining rodent ingestible size for snakes is challenging due to body deformability. Rolling rodents into cylinders accurately estimates the smallest cross-sectional area snakes can swallow without injury.

Area of Science:

  • Zoology
  • Biomechanics
  • Predator-Prey Interactions

Background:

  • Mammalian bodies are deformable, complicating accurate size assessment for predation.
  • Snakes swallow prey whole, making ingestible size a critical factor in prey selection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the ingestible size of rodents (Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus) for snake predation.
  • To compare four methods for measuring rodent cross-sectional areas relevant to snake ingestion.

Main Methods:

  • Measured cross-sectional areas of 100 rodents using four techniques: natural state, wrapped, rolled into cylinders, and volumetric displacement.
  • Utilized reduced major axis regression to model the relationship between rodent mass and smallest attainable cross-sectional area.

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Main Results:

  • Rolling rodents into cylinders yielded significantly smaller cross-sectional areas compared to other methods.
  • This cylindrical method mimics the body compression snakes induce during ingestion.
  • Regression models established specific formulas for estimating ingestible cross-sectional area based on rodent mass for rats and mice.

Conclusions:

  • The cylindrical method provides a more accurate estimation of a rodent's ingestible size for snakes.
  • Predators may overestimate prey size based on visual cues, potentially leading to fewer attacks on prey exceeding their ingestion capacity.