TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bjelica, Vukašin
AU  - Anđelković, Marko
AU  - Lakušić, Margareta
AU  - Maričić, Marko
AU  - Arsovski, Dragan
AU  - Tomović, Ljiljana
AU  - Golubović, Ana
PY  - 2023
UR  - http://radar.ibiss.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5718
AB  - When captured by a predator, the prey’s options for escape decrease dramatically; however, some species, such as dice snakes, display a wide variety of behaviours in order to escape. We explored how factors such as locality, body temperature, body size, sex, reproductive status (i.e. gravid vs. non-gravid), presence and state of injuries, and the presence of food affect the occurrence of behavioural displays in a capture situation within and among four free-ranging populations of dice snakes, Natrix tessellata (Colubridae). Our study shows that dice snakes regularly hiss, discharge their cloacal glands, and coat themselves in musk when captured, while other behaviours were displayed only occasionally. Our study corroborates previous findings of local differentiation in snake behaviour, especially the case of supposed Batesian mimicry in dice snakes. In three of four localities where the dice snake lives in proximity or in sympatry with nose-horned vipers, they display fake striking, with additional head flattening as opposed to the viper-free locality. Larger snakes exhibit a wider array of antipredator behaviours, which commonly include musking and hissing. Expectedly, warmer snakes were more likely to display vigorous antipredator
behaviours such as struggling and striking. Injured snakes (a possible measure of a previous exposure to predation) displayed fewer behaviours and musked and hissed less. We call into question the analysis of isolated antipredator behavioural displays, and encourage using entire behavioural sequences in order to understand the complexity of antipredator behaviour.
PB  - New York: Springer Nature
T2  - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
T1  - A dicey situation: capture behaviours in free‑ranging dice snakes
IS  - 5
VL  - 77
DO  - 10.1007/s00265-023-03323-9
SP  - 48
ER  - 

@article{
author = "Bjelica, Vukašin and Anđelković, Marko and Lakušić, Margareta and Maričić, Marko and Arsovski, Dragan and Tomović, Ljiljana and Golubović, Ana",
year = "2023",
abstract = "When captured by a predator, the prey’s options for escape decrease dramatically; however, some species, such as dice snakes, display a wide variety of behaviours in order to escape. We explored how factors such as locality, body temperature, body size, sex, reproductive status (i.e. gravid vs. non-gravid), presence and state of injuries, and the presence of food affect the occurrence of behavioural displays in a capture situation within and among four free-ranging populations of dice snakes, Natrix tessellata (Colubridae). Our study shows that dice snakes regularly hiss, discharge their cloacal glands, and coat themselves in musk when captured, while other behaviours were displayed only occasionally. Our study corroborates previous findings of local differentiation in snake behaviour, especially the case of supposed Batesian mimicry in dice snakes. In three of four localities where the dice snake lives in proximity or in sympatry with nose-horned vipers, they display fake striking, with additional head flattening as opposed to the viper-free locality. Larger snakes exhibit a wider array of antipredator behaviours, which commonly include musking and hissing. Expectedly, warmer snakes were more likely to display vigorous antipredator
behaviours such as struggling and striking. Injured snakes (a possible measure of a previous exposure to predation) displayed fewer behaviours and musked and hissed less. We call into question the analysis of isolated antipredator behavioural displays, and encourage using entire behavioural sequences in order to understand the complexity of antipredator behaviour.",
publisher = "New York: Springer Nature",
journal = "Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology",
title = "A dicey situation: capture behaviours in free‑ranging dice snakes",
number = "5",
volume = "77",
doi = "10.1007/s00265-023-03323-9",
pages = "48"
}

Bjelica, V., Anđelković, M., Lakušić, M., Maričić, M., Arsovski, D., Tomović, L.,& Golubović, A.. (2023). A dicey situation: capture behaviours in free‑ranging dice snakes. in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
New York: Springer Nature., 77(5), 48.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03323-9

Bjelica V, Anđelković M, Lakušić M, Maričić M, Arsovski D, Tomović L, Golubović A. A dicey situation: capture behaviours in free‑ranging dice snakes. in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 2023;77(5):48.
doi:10.1007/s00265-023-03323-9 .

Bjelica, Vukašin, Anđelković, Marko, Lakušić, Margareta, Maričić, Marko, Arsovski, Dragan, Tomović, Ljiljana, Golubović, Ana, "A dicey situation: capture behaviours in free‑ranging dice snakes" in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 77, no. 5 (2023):48,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03323-9 . .