Assessing the effects of temperature, diet and threat conditions on defensive behavior and venom regeneration in the scorpion (Buthus atlantis)
The study of defensive behaviors in ecology is important for understanding the ability of animals to adapt and survive predation. Defensive behaviors are therefore directly subject to unidirectional selective natural forces. Therefore, animals, especially small ones, usually use different defensive strategies to escape predators. Depending on when they are used, two types of defense mechanisms against predators can be distinguished. These are primary defense mechanisms and secondary defense mechanisms (Bernard, 2004) Whereas organisms employ primary defense mechanisms (such as inconspicuous or camouflage behaviors) to escape predators, secondary defense mechanisms are used by prey after they have been detected by a predator and are used to increase the odds of survival against a predator attack (Robinson 1969; Edmunds 1974One of the most evolved defensive strategies is a morphological adaptation to deliver a rapid venom attack on a predator, so some organisms have developed rapid venom delivery systems, such as the firing of venom sting cysts by cnidarians and the firing of spines through their shells by cone snails, other taxa release defensive venom (e.g. spiders, wasps, Hymenoptera), and still others, such as snakes and scorpions, can extend part of their body towards the target in one swift strike to inject venom.
The rapid striking motion of a scorpion is driven directly by muscles. As terrestrial ectotherms, environmental temperature influences many biological processes in scorpions, including growth rate, immune function, and muscle performance (Autumn and De Nardo, 1995; Mondal & Rai, 2001Thus, running plays an important role in influencing both hunting ability and predator avoidance (Bauwens et al., 1995) and impressive (Carlson and Rowe, 2009).
Another factor that plays an important role in the defensive behavior of scorpions is maintaining a sufficient supply of venom to weaken the defense of prey in order to catch them at an opportunistic time (Currier et al., 2012; Haight and Tschinkel, 2003; Hayes, 2008The amount of venom an animal has depends on factors such as the type of prey, the size of the prey, the rate of encounters with prey, and the rate at which venom is regenerated (Milutin et al., 2002).
In this study, we shift our focus to investigating the defensive behavior of scorpions. Butus AtlantisWe investigated how factors such as temperature, prey type and threatening conditions affect biting behaviour, venom consumption and venom regeneration.
El Joud, Y., El Bouazzaoui, A., El-Ghali, S., Laghzaoui, E., Toulon, O., Ait Larradia, M., Elmourid, A., Ait Hamdan, Y., Rhazi, M., Kahime, K., El Mouden, E. H., Merzouki, M., and El Hidan, M. A. (2024). Assessing the effects of temperature, diet, and threat conditions on defensive behavior and venom regeneration in scorpions (Buthus atlantis). Journal of Thermal Biology103966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103966
