Following of conspecific and avoidance of predator chemical cues by pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus)
- 1 March 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Chemical Ecology
- Vol. 15 (3), 799-806
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01015178
Abstract
The ability of hatchling pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) to follow or avoid the chemical trails of conspecifics and a king snake (Lampropeltis getulus) on paper substrates was investigated inY-maze experiments. Hatchlings entered the arm with the adult conspecific trail and avoided the arm containing the king snake trail at a frequency much greater than that due to chance. The data support the hypotheses that pine snakes follow the chemical trails of adult conspecifics and avoid the chemical trails of a predator.Keywords
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