The Effect of Temperature and Digestion on Metabolism in Black Rat Snakes, Elaphe Obsoleta Obsoleta
type: CreativeWork
description: Temperature is critical to the understanding of snake energetics due to the strong thermal dependencies of metabolism. To identify sources of metabolic variation in Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, I investigated the effects of mass, body temperature, and digestion on oxygen consumption at 20, 25, and 30°C. Mass-specific standard metabolic rates (SMR) for rat snakes increased as a function of temperature. SMR did not change due to time of day effects. Slopes for 20 and 30°C treatments did not significantly differ. There was not a significant difference in O₂ consumption from 20 to 25°C. There was a significant difference in preferred temperature range of rat snakes. Digestive efficiency ranged from 25.6-75.7%. The mean metabolic rate during digestion was approximately four times as high as the mean SMR for relative meal sizes of 8-16% at 25°C. The amount of energy from the meal needed for oxygen consumption was 42.2 ± 1.42%. SMR of E. o. obsoleta resemble values for general snake equations. Preferred temperature range (23.3-33.1°C) is similar compared to northern populations, and thermal sensitivity (Q₁₀) is within the normal range for snakes (2-3).
abstract: Temperature is critical to the understanding of snake energetics due to the strong thermal dependencies of metabolism. To identify sources of metabolic variation in Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, I investigated the effects of mass, body temperature, and digestion on oxygen consumption at 20, 25, and 30°C. Mass-specific standard metabolic rates (SMR) for rat snakes increased as a function of temperature. SMR did not change due to time of day effects. Slopes for 20 and 30°C treatments did not significantly differ. There was not a significant difference in O₂ consumption from 20 to 25°C. There was a significant difference in preferred temperature range of rat snakes. Digestive efficiency ranged from 25.6-75.7%. The mean metabolic rate during digestion was approximately four times as high as the mean SMR for relative meal sizes of 8-16% at 25°C. The amount of energy from the meal needed for oxygen consumption was 42.2 ± 1.42%. SMR of E. o. obsoleta resemble values for general snake equations. Preferred temperature range (23.3-33.1°C) is similar compared to northern populations, and thermal sensitivity (Q₁₀) is within the normal range for snakes (2-3).
author: Brennan, April M.
keywords: metabolism, temperature, digestion, rat snake, Elaphe o. obsoleta, Biology
date published: 2004-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:16:17Z
provider: Missouri State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Missouri State University