Abstract

In nature, two garter snakes (Thamnophis melanogasterandT.eques) feed on the carrion-eating leechErpobdella punctatabut not on the blood-sucking leechHaementeria officinalis. In the laboratory, although ingestively naive snakes attacked both leeches, onlyE.punctatawas successfully ingested.Haementeria officinalisusually thwarted ingestion or killed the snake. In tests with leech odours, ingestively naiveT.melanogastershowed significant responsiveness only toE.punctata; but in tests with pieces of integument and live leeches, they responded positively to both leeches, responding more strongly toE.punctatthan toH.officinalis. Ingestive and chemosensory responses of litters ofT.melanogasterto the two leeches were correlated, implying possible genetic correlation. In a series of 15 trials with live leeches, snakes presented withH.officinalisprogressively ceased to attack, whereas snakes presented withE.punctatacontinued to attack. Snakes that alternately encounteredH.officinalisandE.punctataceased attackingH.officinalisand continued attackingE.punctata. In a subsequent chemosensory test based on tongue-flicking these snakes showed enhanced discrimination of the two leeches, suggesting that snakes can learn to rejectH.officinalis, a dangerous and probably unprofitable prey, using chemical cues.

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