Meeting Abstract

P1.114  Friday, Jan. 4  Determinates and repeatability of specific dynamic action for the corn snake Pantherophis guttatus CROCKER-BUTA, S.P*; SECOR, S.M.; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa spcrockerbuta@crimson.ua.edu

Mandatory to meal ingestion, digestion, and absorption is an increase in energy expenditure that accumulates as the specific dynamic action (SDA) of the meal. To explore determinants of the magnitude and duration of the SDA response, we examined the effects of meal size, body temperature, and body size on the postfeeding metabolic responses and SDA of the corn snake Pantherophis guttatus. We also tested the repeatability of the SDA responses among a group of corn snakes that repeatedly consumed rodent meals equaling 25% of snake body mass. For meals ranging from 5% to 45% of snake body mass, postprandial peak VO₂, duration of significant metabolic response, and SDA increased with meal size. A 9-fold increase in meal size generated an 11-fold increase in SDA, due to a 2.6-fold increase in peak VO₂ and a 4-fold increase in duration. Experiments conducted at 20, 25, 30, and 35 C with 25% meal sizes demonstrated a temperature dependent increase in standard metabolic rate (SMR) and peak VO₂ with body temperature. However there was no significant variation in SDA or the SDA coefficient among temperature treatments. Over a 46-fold range in body mass, SMR, peak VO₂, and SDA scaled with mass exponents of 0.77, 0.93, and 1.00. For a set of 10 individuals consuming 25% size meals in multiple trials, none of the measured (e.g., SMR and peak VO₂) or calculated (e.g., scope, SDA, and SDA coefficient) variables differed among or between trials.