Rain-harvesting behavior in free-ranging prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis)

Abstract

Abstract Organisms inhabiting arid environments face challenges to obtain dietary water. To prevent desiccation, some organisms possess unique adaptations to harvest water from infrequent and unpredictable rainfall, including several squamates (snakes and lizards). While most squamates consume precipitation as it pools in the environment, a small number engage in behaviors to enhance water collection by capturing precipitation from their own skin, referred to as rain-harvesting behavior (RHB). Details of this behavior remain unclear, particularly the sequence of behaviors associated with RHB. We developed a method to simulate rainfall to observe RHB in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) in situ and recorded 72 events in 94 snakes, the most robust sampling of RHB to date. Using video analysis, we describe the postures and kinematics of RHB and develop the first illustrated ethogram of this behavior for any vertebrate. Our results demonstrate that RHB contains fixed and variable patterns useful in cross-species comparisons and in exploring proximate causes of the behavior. Additionally, we describe novel features of RHB including suspended head drinking, body levering, and drinking from neighboring snakes. Our results reveal RHB to be an intricate suite of movements and actions, some of which allude to acute sensory abilities of these animals that warrant further study. Furthermore, observations of RHB at dens and rookeries suggest a potential, novel benefit of snake aggregation is the formation of large, communal surfaces for rain harvesting. We suggest that the extremely elongated body plan of snakes may be well-suited for a rapidly deployed, modular rain-harvesting system effective at capitalizing on fleeting rainstorms characteristic of arid ecosystems of the world.