Handling venomous rattlesnakes takes much expertise and training.  Matt Holding, Ph.D. candidate from The Ohio State University, has years of experience handling such critters.  With methods and techniques approved by the Ohio State University Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee and a Scientific collecting permit from California Dept.of Fish & Wildlife, Matt added valuable data to his study.   He also has northern Pacific rattlesnake data and California ground squirrel data from places like Carrizon Plain Ecological Reserve, Dye Creek Preserve, Vandenberg Air Force Base, various CA State Parks, Folsom Lake S.R.A., and many others.

An accumulation of blood samples from both species, venom samples from the rattlesnakes, and scale samples from the snakes, will help Matt uncover if coevolution of the two species is driving the levels  of venom toxicity in the rattlesnakes and venom resistance in the ground squirrels.  His goal is to be able to isolate specific venom and resistance genes in each snake and prey ... and calculate rates of molecular evolution across populations.

Here you see Matt obtaining a venom sample and a blood sample from a northern Pacific rattlesnake collected at the Hopland Research & Extension Center. For more information you can visit Matt Holding's Blog site