Predator-prey interactions and venom composition in a high elevation lizard specialist, Crotalus pricei (Twin-spotted Rattlesnake)

Abstract

The Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) is a small lizard specialist restricted to higher montane habitat in the Sky Islands of Arizona and México. Though this species is restricted to high elevations and dispersal between mountaintops is impossible, few studies have investigated venom composition or the predator-prey relationship between C. p. pricei and its primary prey source, Yarrow's Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii). Because of current isolation of populations in disjunct mountain ranges, it is possible that populations show local adaptation to prey and/or environmental conditions, as reflected by distinct venom phenotypes. Here we characterize venom composition of C. pricei from several different Sky Island mountain ranges and its relationship with S. jarrovii by using various analytical techniques and comparative toxicity tests. Results of venom analyses indicate that there is limited geographic variation in venom composition, occurring primarily in venoms of C. pricei from Durango, México, which had unusual PLA2 isoforms that are lacking from venoms of U.S. populations. Toxicity assays reveal that S. jarrovii has not developed resistance specific to C. p. pricei venom but does display a general tolerance to venom of several snakes in the genus Crotalus. These results provide insight into the evolutionary relationship between a lizard specialist and its natural prey, in addition to novel information on the venom composition of a little-studied species with a narrow range in the United States.