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Previous field studies of squamate reptiles have shown that many life history traits show a significant amount of phenotypic plasticity, especially in response to prey availability. These results were recently supported by laboratory studies on a viviparous garter snake, which showed that clutch size and clutch mass were plastic in response to changes in energy intake, but that relative clutch mass and offspring size were relatively canalized. To determine if these results extend to oviparous reptiles, we conducted an experimental study of phenotypic plasticity in the corn snake, Elapheguttata. Female corn snakes on a high energy diet produced larger clutch sizes, larger clutch masses, and larger relative clutch...
Abstract--Young corn snakes, Elaphe guttata, were tested for responses to chemicals from heterospecific snakes. Corn snakes exhibited more tongueflicks to swabs freshly rubbed against the skin of an ophiophagous kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus, than to blank swabs. Responses to L. getulus and a nonophiophagous western plains garter snake, Thamnophis radix haydeni, did not differ significantly. Corn snakes exhibited more tongue-flicks to swabs treated with chloroform extracts of the shed skins of L. getulus; an ophiophagous eastern coachwhip, Masticophisflagellum; anda nonophiophagous gray ratsnake, Elaphe obsoleta, than to blank swabs, but they did not discriminate between ophiophagous and nonophiophagous species...