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Response of Gopher Snakes to Mouse Odors. A. Plus Student Biology 5 Section 90/91. Biological Questions. Experiment One: Do gopher snakes react to mouse odors by increasing their tongue-flicking rate?
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Response of Gopher Snakes to Mouse Odors • A. Plus Student • Biology 5 • Section 90/91 Your Initials-Section #
Biological Questions • Experiment One: Do gopher snakes react to mouse odors by increasing their tongue-flicking rate? • Experiment Two: Can we use a linear model to predict tongue-flick rate as a function of odor concentration? Your Initials-Section #
Introduce treated or untreated bedding Hungry gopher snake Count tongue-flicks Calculate tongue-flick rate Tongue-flicks 20 minutes How we measured “response” • Both experiments used the same procedure for measuring tongue-flick rates Your Initials-Section #
Results: Experiment One • Mean tongue-flick rates are different. • T-Test Significance probability < 0.0001 • Rejected Ho; Accepted Ha Your Initials-Section #
Results: Experiment One Mean tongue-flick rates are significantly greater in response to mouse odor. Your Initials-Section #
Results: Experiment Two Tongue-flick rate increased as odor concentration increased MODEL Tongue-flick rate = 65.14 + 0.18*Odor Concentration Test of Fit: Significance probability < 0.00001 Rejected Ho: Accepted Ha Your Initials-Section #
Results: Experiment Two The model can be used to predict tongue-flick rates. Your Initials-Section #
Biological Answers… Experiment One: Do gopher snakes react to mouse odors by increasing their tongue-flicking rate? YES Experiment Two: can we use a linear model to predict tongue-flick rate as a function of odor concentration? YES Your Initials-Section #
…and their Meaning Responding to the odor of “food” will help the snake find the “food” item. Responding with more interest to high odor concentrations helps the snake “zero in” on its prey. Your Initials-Section #
What we’ve learned… Gopher snakes respond to prey odor in ways that are useful in the context of an active hunting strategy. Your Initials-Section #