Examinando por Autor "Garavito Mendoza, Lina María"

Mostrando 1 - 1 de 1
  • Miniatura
    PublicaciónAcceso abierto
    Portrait of a semi-aquatic hunter: Implications of head morphology in Helicops pastazae for its fish searching and capture strategy
    (Universidad de los Andes, 2025-11-28) Garavito Mendoza, Lina María; Molina Escobar, Jorge Alberto; García Cobos, Daniela; Sasa Marín, Mahmood; Sánchez Muñoz, Juan Armando; Facultad de Ciencias::Cimpat. Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitologia Tropical
    Studies on aquatic snakes in Europe and North America have shown that, through hydrodynamic convergence, there is a relationship between head shape and foraging strategies to capture prey in the water. This suggests that certain morphological traits could predict predatory behavior. However, this link between morphology and behavior has not been explored in South American aquatic snakes. In this study, we evaluated whether the head of Helicops pastazae, a species inhabiting Andean-Amazonian rivers in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, can provide insights into its predatory habits. We measured the heads of 99 museum specimens (28 males and 71 females) and analyzed them using linear and geometric morphometrics within a comparative framework that included aquatic and semi-aquatic representatives of the family Natricidae. Additionally, we conducted behavioral trials with eight captive H. pastazae individuals to assess their predatory strategies in an aquatic environment. Morphological analyses indicate that the head of H. pastazae resembles that of snakes performing frontal strikes, in which the head moves quickly forward to capture prey. During behavioral trials, we only recorded attacks involving lateral head movements. We also observed the importance of prey contact, and documented an exploratory probing behavior with an open mouth that occurred exclusively in males. This study provides the first evaluation of the relationship between head morphology and predatory behavior in a South American freshwater snake. We emphasize that morphology alone cannot fully explain hunting dynamics, as behavioral plasticity and ecological context play decisive roles in the species’ functional ecology.