Toxkoo VoL 30, No. 3, pp. 259- 264, 1992. Pr i nt ed in Gr eat Bri t ai n. C 1992 Per s mon Pr ey pl c TOX 30 : 3- C SURVI VAL TI MES AND RESI STANCE TO SEA SNAKE ( AI PYSURUS LAEVI S) VENOMBY FI VE SPECI ES OF PREY FI SH K. D . ZI MMERMAN, ' HAROLD HEATWOLE2* and H. 1. DAMES' 'P.O . Box 1138, Ummal Quwai n, Uni t ed Ar ab Em i r at es ; ' Depart ment of Zool ogy, Nor t h Carol i na St at e Uni ver si t y, Ral ei gh, NC 27695- 7617, U.S.A. ; and ' Depart ment of Mat hemat i cs, Uni ver si t y of New Engl and, Ar m i dal e, N .S.W ., 2351, Aust r al i a ( Recei ved 3 home 1991 ; accept ed 31 Oct ober 1991) K . D. ZI MMERMAN, H . HEATWOLE and H. I . DAVI ES. Sur vi val times and r esi st ance t o sea snake ( Ai pysur us I devi s) venom by f i ve speci es of pr ey f i sh . Toxi con 30, 259- 264, 1992 . - The LD50 val ues and sur vi val times of t hr ee pomacent ri d speci es and t wo bl enni es wer e measur ed af t er bei ng subj ect ed to t he venomof one of t hei r pr edat or s, t he ol i ve sea snake, Ai pysur us I devi s . The speci es di f f er ed si gni f i cant l y in t he speed of t hei r r esponses to t he venom . At hi gh venom doses, bl enni es had hi gher sur vi val times t han pomacent r i ds, and in t he l at t er gr oup Ddscyl l us sur vi ved l onger t han di d speci es of Chr om is. In par t , t hi s may be r el at ed to di f f er ences bet ween bl enni es and pomacent ri ds in degr ee of cut aneous r espi r at i on . Rel at i ve sur vi val - time was i nf l uenced by venom dosage; r anki ng or der of speci es' sur vi val times was di f f er ent at l ow doses t han at hi gh ones, and t axonom ic cor r el at i ons br oke down. I NTRODUCTI ON RESPONSE To venomcan be expr essed ei t her as r esi st ance or as sur vi val time . These di f f er in t hei r ecol ogi cal consequences in t he pr edat or - pr ey r el at i onshi p . Resi st ance, i ndi cat ed in t he pr esent st udy by LD50 val ues and pr obi t l i nes, is r eci pr ocal to t oxi ci t y . Fr om t he st andpoi nt of t he pr ey, r esi st ance is t he i mport ant concept as it is a measur e of whet her or not t he pr ey will sur vi ve a par t i cul ar envenomat i on . Fr omt he st andpoi nt of t he pr edat or , t oxi ci t y is t he mai n consi der at i on; it i ndi cat es whet her venom is st r ong enough, or adm i ni st er ed in suf f i ci ent quant i t i es, to subdue a par t i cul ar ani mal . Sur vi val time, on t he ot her hand, does not necessar i l y def i ne t he ultimate out come of an envenomat i on, but r at her t he speed at whi ch t hat out come is achi eved . For exampl e, t wo venoms m i ght bot h pr oduce t he s ame per cent age mort al i t y event ual l y, but one may do so r api dl y and t he ot her sl owl y . Sur vi val time of pr ey is i mport ant to t he pr edat or . The l onger t he sur vi val time, t he gr eat er is t he chance t he pr ey will escape or cause damage t hr ough count er at t ack. Thi s consi der at i on may be l ess i mport ant to t he pr ey . If it does not sur vi ve a gi ven envenomat i on it is t r i v i al whet her t he speed of dem i se is r api d or sl ow, or even whet her it escapes dur i ng t hat per i od if it merel y succumbs anyway af t er it is f r ee . Aut hor to whomcor r espondence shoul d be addr essed . 259 aa1- 0101/ 92 s5. 00+ . 00