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The Role of Pheromone Trails in the Sociobiology of Snakes

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Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 4

Abstract

In his review of reptilian social systems, Brattstrom (1974) stated that “nobody has, in my opinion, designed the appropriate experiments to study social behavior in snakes properly.” In the subsequent decade, studies of snake behavior have proliferated, but Brattstrom’s comments regarding studies of snake sociobiology are essentially still true. Most reports remain observational accounts and descriptions of ritualistic behaviors involved in reproductive and agonistic encounters (reviewed by Carpenter, 1977; Carpenter and Ferguson, 1977). Very few biologists have attempted to experimentally examine the sociobiological functions of such displays. However, for a good example, see Gillingham et al.’s (1983) test of courtship activity of male diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox), after combat dances.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, USA, 75701

    Neil B. Ford

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  1. Neil B. Ford
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

    David Duvall

  2. State University of New York, Syracuse, New york, USA

    Dietland Müller-Schwarze  & Robert M. Silverstein  & 

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Ford, N.B. (1986). The Role of Pheromone Trails in the Sociobiology of Snakes. In: Duvall, D., Müller-Schwarze, D., Silverstein, R.M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2235-1_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2235-1_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9310-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2235-1

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