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Low Temperature Dormancy Affects the Quantity and Quality of the Female Sexual Attractiveness Pheromone in Red-sided Garter Snakes

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Abstract

Low temperature dormancy is a necessary requirement of the annual cycle of most nonmigratory, temperate vertebrates. The red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, overwinters in communal dens during its prolonged winter dormancy (8 mo), and upon emergence, reproductive behavior of both sexes is maximal. Previous work on this species showed that male courtship behavior is maximally induced after simulated low temperature dormancy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether low temperature dormancy affects the pheromone profiles of individual female red-sided garter snakes. We collected females in the fall at den sites in Manitoba, Canada, and extracted pheromones from individuals at three different time points: fall (field), winter (lab), and spring (lab). Total skin lipid and pheromone fraction masses increased from fall to spring, and pheromone profiles were distinctly different in the fall and spring. Pheromone profiles became dominated by the long-chain, unsaturated methyl ketone components of the blend by the time snakes emerged in the spring. Further, the amounts of both saturated and unsaturated components increased from fall to spring, suggesting significant sex pheromone synthesis was induced by low temperature dormancy.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by an EPA STAR Fellowship (FP-91669601-2) awarded to MRP and partially funded by an NSF grant (0620125-IOB) to RTM. We would like to thank A. and G. Johnson for their support in the field, and D. Roberts and W. Watkins of Manitoba Conservation for their assistance with field work in Manitoba, Canada. W. Gaeuman assisted with statistical analyses.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, 3029 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-2914, USA

    M. Rockwell Parker & Robert T. Mason

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Parker, M.R., Mason, R.T. Low Temperature Dormancy Affects the Quantity and Quality of the Female Sexual Attractiveness Pheromone in Red-sided Garter Snakes. J Chem Ecol 35, 1234–1241 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9699-0

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