Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

21.8K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
21.8K
Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

45.3K
Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
45.3K
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

130.1K
Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.
130.1K
Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

14.0K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
14.0K
Production Efficiency01:01

Production Efficiency

18.7K
Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic rates and less energy spent on thermoregulatory processes, the NPE of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) is 10 times higher than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).
18.7K
Thermoregulation01:26

Thermoregulation

2.5K
The human body has a sophisticated thermoregulation system that employs negative feedback mechanisms to maintain an optimal core temperature. When the core temperature drops, peripheral and central thermoreceptors send signals to the hypothalamus, activating the heat-promoting center. This center triggers several responses aimed at increasing the core temperature. First, vasoconstriction reduces the flow of warm blood from internal organs to the skin so that the heat is not lost from the skin,...
2.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Northern bobwhite select for shrubby thickets interspersed in grasslands during fall and winter.

PloS one·2021
Same author

Resource selection and movement by northern bobwhite broods varies with age and explains survival.

Oecologia·2021
Same author

Effects of snake fungal disease on short-term survival, behavior, and movement in free-ranging snakes.

Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America·2020
Same author

Predicted alteration of surface activity as a consequence of climate change.

Ecology·2020
Same author

Effects of forest management on vertebrates: synthesizing two decades of data from hardwood forests in Missouri, USA.

Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America·2019
Same author

Field Diagnostics and Seasonality of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in Wild Snake Populations.

EcoHealth·2018

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

3.4K

Resource selection by an ectothermic predator in a dynamic thermal landscape.

Andrew D George1, Grant M Connette2, Frank R Thompson3

  • 1Division of Biological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia MO USA.

Ecology and Evolution
|December 1, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Global climate change impacts species interactions. Western ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) select habitats based on vegetation and temperature, crucial for conservation strategies in a changing climate.

Keywords:
LiDARPantherophis obsoletusdiscrete choice modelsedge‐effectshabitat fragmentationresource selectionthermal ecologywestern ratsnakes

More Related Videos

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block
07:16

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block

Published on: November 18, 2022

1.8K
Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms
05:31

Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms

Published on: September 28, 2022

2.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

3.4K
Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block
07:16

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block

Published on: November 18, 2022

1.8K
Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms
05:31

Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms

Published on: September 28, 2022

2.8K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Climate Change Biology
  • Herpetology

Background:

  • Predicting climate change effects on species interactions is challenging due to scale mismatches between climate models and organismal microclimates.
  • Ectothermic predators, like western ratsnakes, are particularly sensitive to thermal conditions and habitat structure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate resource selection in western ratsnakes by integrating habitat structure and local temperature data.
  • To understand how fine-scale vegetation and thermal conditions influence snake space use seasonally.

Main Methods:

  • Radio-tracking of 53 western ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) from 2010 to 2013 in central Missouri.
  • Utilizing Bayesian discrete choice models within an information theoretic framework.
  • Assessing the influence of canopy cover, heterogeneity, understory cover, and air temperature heterogeneity on resource selection.

Main Results:

  • Ratsnake resource selection was primarily driven by canopy cover, canopy cover heterogeneity, understory cover, and air temperature heterogeneity.
  • A seasonal shift in habitat preference was observed: greater canopy heterogeneity in early season and greater temperature heterogeneity later in the active season.
  • Predicted space use indicated selection of open habitats in spring/early summer and forest-field edges throughout the active season.

Conclusions:

  • Downscaled temperature models can improve understanding of animal resource selection at management-relevant scales.
  • Conservation of snakes and their prey under climate change necessitates considering fine-scale interactions between local temperatures and habitat structure.
  • Seasonal shifts in resource selection by western ratsnakes reflect adaptations to thermoregulation and resource needs.