- Chuck Smith
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
Updated: May 13
Variation in defensive and exploratory behaviors across a rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus × viridis) hybrid zone in southwestern New Mexico
Maag, Dylan W.
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
University of California – Riverside
Riverside, California USA
Department of Life, Earth, and Environmental Sciences
West Texas A&M University
Canyon, Texas USA
Department of Biology
San Diego State University
San Diego, California USA
Francioli, Yannick Z.
Department of Biology
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas USA
Goetz, Matthew T. H.
Lea N. Sanders
Xochitl Lopez
Department of Biology
San Diego State University
San Diego, California USA
Castoe, Todd A
Department of Biology
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas USA
Schuett, Gordon W.
Department of Biology | Neuroscience Institute
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Chiricahua Desert Museum
Rodeo, New Mexico USA
Clark, Rulon W.
Department of Biology
San Diego State University
San Diego, California USA
Chiricahua Desert Museum
Rodeo, New Mexico USA
Studies on animal temperaments (consistent differences in behaviors across contexts) and behavioral syndromes (suites of correlated behaviors across contexts) have surged in recent decades. Accordingly, behavioral ecologists have gained greater appreciation for their evolutionary role and significance. Yet, despite their importance as potential evolutionary drivers, research focused on temperament and syndromes in shaping hybridization events is vastly understudied. Case studies have shown that hybridization has multiple effects on these phenomena, such as eliminating syndromes present in parental lineages and generating novel syndromes within hybrids. Here, we assessed temperament and syndromes in a naturally occurring rattlesnake hybrid zone (Crotalus scutulatus × viridis). We used laboratory behavioral assays to quantify defensive and explorative behaviors, and tested whether these traits were correlated with spatial and hunting behaviors of free-ranging individuals. C. viridis was more significantly more prone to rattle than C. scutulatus during handling tests. Similarly, hybrid individuals that had a greater proportion of their genome derived from C. viridis were also more prone to rattle. Parental and hybrid snakes exhibited varying syndromes in defensiveness and exploratory behaviors, yet further research is necessary to determine whether they impact hybrid fitness by creating mismatches between temperaments and predation pressures under natural conditions.