A plethora of rodents: Rattlesnake predators generate unanticipated patterns of venom resistance in a grassland ecosystem.

Predation has the potential to impart strong selective pressures on organisms within their environments, resulting in adaptive changes in prey that minimize risk of predation. Pressures from venomous snakes present an exceptional challenge to prey, as venom represents a unique chemical arsenal evolutionarily tailored to incapacitate prey. In response, venom resistance has been detected in various snake prey species, and to varying degrees.

Snakes on a plain: biotic and abiotic factors determine venom compositional variation in a wide-ranging generalist rattlesnake.

Background: Snake venoms are trophic adaptations that represent an ideal model to examine the evolutionary factors that shape polymorphic traits under strong natural selection. Venom compositional variation is substantial within and among venomous snake species. However, the forces shaping this phenotypic complexity, as well as the potential integrated roles of biotic and abiotic factors, have received little attention.