A sensory ecology approach to understanding snakebites: Influence of sensory cues on the strike of the lancehead pitviper

Abstract Antipredatory behaviors arise from selective pressures associated with predator protection. Recognizing predators is crucial for an appropriate response to aversive stimuli. Animals employ various sensory cues to differentiate between predator types and assess the level of danger they face. Snakes are notable for having a broad range of predators and one of the most diverse repertoires of defensive behaviors. During heightened responses to aversive stimuli, one of the behaviors displayed is the venomous bite, particularly relevant because it triggers snakebite incidents in humans. In studying the essential sensory factors that initiate venomous snakebites, we investigated the sensory cues employed by snakes for envenomation. Consequently, we examined the consequence of human‐derived sensory stimuli, such as temperature, vision, and odor, in influencing the probability and accuracy of venomous strikes. Our model species was the lancehead pit viper Bothrops jararaca, widely distributed and a major cause of envenomation in Brazil. We conducted sensory deprivation experiments on the snakes and tested sensory stimuli in isolation and in all possible combinations in order to assess their impact on snake response. Among these cues, the combination of thermal and visual cues significantly increased the occurrence and accuracy of strike responses in snakes. When cues were presented in isolation, thermal cues elicited the strongest strike response from snakes. Although isolated human odor played a limited role in strikes, its interaction with other sensory cues synergistically increased both the frequency and accuracy of strikes. Consequently, this study equips us with tools to understand and develop strategies for preventing snakebite envenomations.