Snakes survive starvation by employing supply- and demand-side economic strategies

摘要: Animals vary widely in their abilities to tolerate extended periods of food limitation. Although some snakes are known for unique ability survive inanition that last up 2 years, very little is about the biological mechanisms allow them do this. Consequently, present study examined physiological, compositional, and morphological responses 168 days starvation among three distantly related snake species (i.e., ball python, Python regius; ratsnake, Elaphe obsoleta; western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox). Results revealed each these was able successfully by adaptively utilizing supply- demand-side regulatory strategies. Effective strategies included depress resting metabolic demands 72%. Moreover, supply-side regulation resources evidenced spare structurally critical protein stores at expense lipid catabolism. Such physiological minimizing endogenous mass energy flux during resource limitation might help explain evolutionary persistence over past 100 million as well repeated radiation lineages into relatively low-energy environments. The final section this outlines a novel modeling approach developed characterize material chemical through animals complete inanition. This used make comparisons efficacy various examined, but could also be similar other types animals.