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Defensive Venoms: Is Pain Sufficient for Predator Deterrence?

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dc.contributor.authorNiermann, Crystal N.
dc.contributor.authorTate, Travis G.
dc.contributor.authorSuto, Amber L.
dc.contributor.authorBarajas, Rolando
dc.contributor.authorWhite, Hope A.
dc.contributor.authorGuswiler, Olivia D.
dc.contributor.authorSecor, Stephen M.
dc.contributor.authorRowe, Ashlee H.
dc.contributor.authorRowe, Matthew P.
dc.contributor.otherSam Houston State University
dc.contributor.otherMichigan State University
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Oklahoma - Norman
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T19:36:43Z
dc.date.available2023-09-28T19:36:43Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractPain, though unpleasant, is adaptive in calling an animal's attention to potential tissue damage. A long list of animals representing diverse taxa possess venom-mediated, pain-inducing bites or stings that work by co-opting the pain-sensing pathways of potential enemies. Typically, such venoms include toxins that cause tissue damage or disrupt neuronal activity, rendering painful stings honest indicators of harm. But could pain alone be sufficient for deterring a hungry predator? Some venomologists have argued "no"; predators, in the absence of injury, would "see through" the bluff of a painful but otherwise benign sting or bite. Because most algogenic venoms are also toxic (although not vice versa), it has been difficult to disentangle the relative contributions of each component to predator deterrence. Southern grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) are voracious predators of arthropods, feeding on a diversity of scorpion species whose stings vary in painfulness, including painful Arizona bark scorpions (Centruroides sculpturatus) and essentially painless stripe-tailed scorpions (Paravaejovis spinigerus). Moreover, southern grasshopper mice have evolved resistance to the lethal toxins in bark scorpion venom, rendering a sting from these scorpions painful but harmless. Results from a series of laboratory experiments demonstrate that painful stings matter. Grasshopper mice preferred to prey on stripe-tailed scorpions rather than bark scorpions when both species could sting; the preference disappeared when each species had their stingers blocked. A painful sting therefore appears necessary for a scorpion to deter a hungry grasshopper mouse, but it may not always be sufficient: after first attacking and consuming a painless stripe-tailed scorpion, many grasshopper mice went on to attack, kill, and eat a bark scorpion even when the scorpion was capable of stinging. Defensive venoms that result in tissue damage or neurological dysfunction may, thus, be required to condition greater aversion than venoms causing pain alone.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationNiermann, C. N., Tate, T. G., Suto, A. L., Barajas, R., White, H. A., Guswiler, O. D., Secor, S. M., Rowe, A. H., & Rowe, M. P. (2020). Defensive Venoms: Is Pain Sufficient for Predator Deterrence? In Toxins (Vol. 12, Issue 4, p. 260). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12040260
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/toxins12040260
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9823-2170
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2524-7678
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/11610
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.rights.licenseAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectantipredator
dc.subjectaversive conditioning
dc.subjectCentruroides
dc.subjectgrasshopper mouse
dc.subjecthonest advertising
dc.subjectnociception
dc.subjectOnychomys
dc.subjectscorpion
dc.subjecttoxicity
dc.subjectMICE ONYCHOMYS SPP.
dc.subjectSODIUM-CHANNELS
dc.subjectSCORPION-VENOM
dc.subjectVELVET ANTS
dc.subjectRESISTANCE
dc.subjectPREY
dc.subjectHYMENOPTERA
dc.subjectRESPONSES
dc.subjectCOEVOLUTION
dc.subjectMECHANISMS
dc.subjectFood Science & Technology
dc.subjectToxicology
dc.titleDefensive Venoms: Is Pain Sufficient for Predator Deterrence?en_US
dc.typeArticle
dc.typetext

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