Meeting Abstract

P3.106  Thursday, Jan. 6  Touch or go: Proximal cues for clutch brooding in Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni) BRASHEARS, Jake A.*; DENARDO, Dale F.; Arizona State University; Arizona State University jake.brashears@asu.edu

The proximal cues that elicit and maintain maternal behavior have been extensively studied in birds and mammals, but they are poorly understood in amphibians and reptiles. We investigated these cues in brooding female pythons by measuring the behavior of females presented with a series of experimental clutch and nest substitutions. Females did not alter their brooding behavior when in a novel nest environment, indicating that the nest environment is not necessary. Females also did not alter their brooding behavior when presented with another female’s clutch, showing that the cue is not specific to the female. Finally, females maintained brooding behaviors when presented with a sacrificed clutch that had been washed in hexanes to remove scent, indicating that the cue is not olfactory. However, females did alter their brooding behaviors in response to an artificial clutch made of stone and plaster, showing that the pressure provided by a clutch shaped object is insufficient to induce brooding behavior. We conclude that the tactile cue presented by the surface of an actual clutch is sufficient to account for the elicitation and maintenance of brooding behavior in Children’s pythons (Antaresia childreni).