| the energetic advantages of slug specialization in garter snakes (genus thamnophis). | we tested the hypothesis that dietary specialization by foraging garter snakes is accompanied by increased assimilation efficiency on specialist prey items. our comparison included two closely related garter snake species considered to be slug specialists (thamnophis ordinoides and thamnophis elegans terrestris), one fish specialist (thamnophis couchii), and one diet generalist (thamnophis elegans elegans). our results suggest that slug specialists have an energetic advantage over non-slug-eatin ... | 2008 | 18419552 |