Burghardt G M
Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-0900.
Brain Behav Evol. 1993;41(3-5):138-46. doi: 10.1159/000113831.
Reptiles offer a rich diversity for the study of chemoreception, and snakes are a particularly appropriate group for comparative, evolutionary, genetic, developmental, and mechanistic studies. A long-term program of research is described that attempts to integrate these approaches, focusing on the widespread North American genus Thamnophis (Natricinae). Prior to their first meal, neonatal snakes respond to aqueous surface substances from species-typical prey with increased tongue-flicking and open-mouth attacks; these responses are mediated by the vomeronasal organ. Such responses predict what prey snakes will eat and can also predict relative prey preference. Species, population, litter, and individual differences exists and are important at different levels of analysis. Chemoreceptive responses are heritable, although they may show different developmental trends. Some species respond to prey types they do not eat in nature. In the earthworm specialist, T. butleri, response to fish chemicals can be interpreted as a chemoreceptive response inertially inherited from ancestral species, decoupled from prey capture techniques, and in the process of being lost. Ontogeny and experience can modify behavior of the neonate in various ways. Feeding experience can alter response to some prey more than others, and ambient prey odor may shift prey preference. Psychophysical studies show that prey preference and threshold sensitivity to prey chemicals can be independent and differ between closely related species, indicating that neural tissue is devoted to recognition of specific types of prey. In site choice tests, garter snakes can also discriminate between feces derived from conspecific snakes fed similar or different diets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
爬行动物为化学感受研究提供了丰富的多样性，而蛇类是进行比较、进化、遗传、发育和机制研究的特别合适的群体。本文描述了一个长期研究计划，该计划试图整合这些方法，重点关注分布广泛的北美束带蛇属（水游蛇亚科）。在首次进食之前，新生蛇会对来自典型猎物的水性表面物质做出反应，表现为舔舌频率增加和张嘴攻击；这些反应由犁鼻器介导。此类反应可预测蛇会捕食何种猎物，也能预测相对的猎物偏好。物种、种群、窝仔数和个体之间存在差异，且在不同分析层面都很重要。化学感受反应具有遗传性，尽管它们可能呈现不同的发育趋势。有些物种会对它们在自然环境中不吃的猎物类型做出反应。在以蚯蚓为食的巴氏束带蛇中，对鱼类化学物质的反应可被解释为从祖先物种惯性遗传而来的化学感受反应，与猎物捕获技巧脱钩，且正处于消失过程中。个体发育和经验可以通过多种方式改变新生蛇的行为。进食经验对某些猎物反应的改变可能大于其他猎物，周围猎物的气味可能会改变猎物偏好。心理物理学研究表明，猎物偏好和对猎物化学物质的阈值敏感性可能相互独立，且在亲缘关系密切的物种之间存在差异，这表明神经组织专门用于识别特定类型的猎物。在栖息地选择测试中，束带蛇还能区分来自食用相似或不同食物的同种蛇的粪便。（摘要截选至250词）
