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Potdar S, Dinakar M, Westerman EL. Behavioural changes in aposematic Heliconius melpomene butterflies in response to their predatory bird calls. Behav Processes 2024; 220:105071. [PMID: 38908610 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 06/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/24/2024]
Abstract
Prey-predator interactions have resulted in the evolution of many anti-predatory traits. One of them is the ability for prey to listen to predators and avoid them. Although prey anti-predatory behavioural responses to predator auditory cues are well described in a wide range of taxa, studies on whether butterflies change their behaviours in response to their predatory calls are lacking. Heliconius butterflies are unpalatable and form Müllerian mimicry rings as morphological defence strategies against their avian predators. Like many other butterflies in the Nymphalidae family, some Heliconius butterflies possess auditory organs, which are hypothesized to assist with predator detection. Here we test whether Heliconius melpomene change their behaviour in response to their predatory bird calls by observing the behaviour of male and female H. m. plessini exposed to calls of Heliconius avian predators: rufous-tailed jacamar, migratory Eastern kingbird, and resident tropical kingbird. We also exposed them to the calls of the toco toucan, a frugivorous bird as a control bird call, and an amplified greenhouse background noise as a noise control. We found that individuals changed their behaviour in response to jacamar calls only. Males increased their walking and fluttering behaviour, while females did not change their behaviour during the playback of the jacamar call. Intersexual behaviours like courtship, copulation, and abdomen lifting did not change in response to bird calls. Our findings suggest that despite having primary predatory defences like toxicity and being in a mimicry ring, H. m. plessini butterflies changed their behaviour in response to predator calls. Furthermore, this response was predator specific, as H. m. plesseni did not respond to either the Eastern kingbird or the tropical kingbird calls. This suggests that Heliconius butterflies may be able to differentiate predatory calls, and potentially the birds associated with those calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushant Potdar
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
| | | | - Erica L Westerman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
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Smith JE, Carminito C, Hamilton S, Newcomb KL, Randt C, Travenick S. Sensory integration of danger and safety cues may explain the fear of a quiet coyote. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231812. [PMID: 37876200 PMCID: PMC10598434 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory integration theory predicts natural selection should favour adaptive responses of animals to multiple forms of information, yet empirical tests of this prediction are rare, particularly in free-living mammals. Studying indirect predator cues offers a salient opportunity to inquire about multimodal risk assessment and its potentially interactive effects on prey responses. Here we exposed California ground squirrels from two study sites (that differ in human and domestic dog activity) to acoustic and/or olfactory predator cues to reveal divergent patterns of signal dominance. Olfactory information most strongly predicted space use within the testing arena. That is, individuals, especially those at the human-impacted site, avoided coyote urine, a danger cue that may communicate the proximity of a coyote. By contrast, subjects allocated less time to risk-sensitive behaviours when exposed to acoustic cues. Specifically, although individuals were consistent in their behavioural responses across trials, 'quiet coyotes' (urine without calls) significantly increased the behavioural reactivity of prey, likely because coyotes rarely vocalize when hunting. More broadly, our findings highlight the need to consider the evolution of integrated fear responses and contribute to an emerging understanding of how animals integrate multiple forms of information to trade off between danger and safety cues in a changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer E. Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI, USA
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
| | - Chelsea Carminito
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Shea Hamilton
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
| | - Kate Lee Newcomb
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
| | - Clare Randt
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
| | - Sarah Travenick
- Department of Biology, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94631, USA
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3
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Uchida K, Burkle AA, Blumstein DT. Take only pictures, leave only… Cameras influence marmot vigilance but not perceptions of risk. J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- K. Uchida
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of California Los Angeles CA USA
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
| | - A. A. Burkle
- Department of Biology Western Colorado University Gunnison CO USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
| | - D. T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of California Los Angeles CA USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Crested Butte CO USA
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Nhleko ZN, Shrader AM, Ferreira SM, McCleery RA. White rhinos and other herbivores decrease visitations and increase vigilance in response to human vocalizations. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Harnessing the fear animals have of humans has the potential to aid in the conservation of wildlife. Most vertebrates perceive humans as “super predators.” While predator cues are an important nonlethal management tool, the use of human cues for management has rarely been implemented or experimentally tested. Extensive poaching is threatening the persistence of white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum), and there is a need to deter them from areas with elevated poaching risks. To investigate the feasibility of harnessing the fear white rhinos have of humans to aid in their conservation, we conducted playback experiments at rhino middens. We broadcasted repeated human (treatment) and bird (control) vocalizations, and measured changes in visitations and antipredator responses. We found that overall rhino visitations did not change in response to controls but decreased by 46% in response to human vocalizations. This pattern appears to be driven by the response of females, who decreased their visitations by 70% in response to human vocalizations, while visitations by males remained unchanged. This difference is likely related to males defending small exclusive territories. Providing evidence that changes in female visitation rates were a function of the perceived fear of white rhinos, we found that both sexes exhibited more vigilance in response to human vocalizations (males 69.5%, females 96%) compared to controls. We also saw a 63% reduction of other herbivores at treatment sites. Our findings provide evidence that the fear of humans can be used to alter the movements and behavior of female white rhinos, critical for population recovery, as well as other large herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoliswa N Nhleko
- Interdisciplinary Program in Ecology, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611 , USA
- Savanna Node, Scientific Services, SANParks , Skukuza 1350 , South Africa
| | - Adrian M Shrader
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria 0002 , South Africa
| | - Sam M Ferreira
- Savanna Node, Scientific Services, SANParks , Skukuza 1350 , South Africa
| | - Robert A McCleery
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria 0002 , South Africa
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611 , USA
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Berkel C, Cacan E. Intersexual differences in the number of genes differentially expressed in wild mammals in response to predation risk. Physiol Behav 2022; 255:113920. [PMID: 35868539 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
Predation is a psychological stressor in prey animals. Besides direct killing and consumption by predators, the perception of predation risk indirectly influence prey population behavior, dynamics and physiology. Few studies identified the transcriptomic response associated with predator presence/abundance in natural populations and uncontrolled settings. However, to our knowledge, intersexual differences in the number of genes whose expression change in response to high predation risk have not been previously reported in wild mammals. Here, by using publicly available gene expression data in wild yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer), we found that the number of differentially expressed genes in response to predator stress is higher in female marmots (n = 516) than males (n = 387). Only a small percentage of these differentially expressed genes (n = 36) are shared between the sexes, and that the most of the differentially expressed genes are expressed in a sex-specific manner in response to predation stress. Overall, our results provide new insight into sex-specific variation in gene expression changes in wild mammals under high predation risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caglar Berkel
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, 60250, Turkey.
| | - Ercan Cacan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, 60250, Turkey.
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Gigliotti LC, Slotow R, Sholto-Douglas C, de Vos C, Jachowski DS. Short-term predation risk and habitat complexity influence cheetah antipredator behaviours. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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7
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Egg rejection changes with seasonal variation in risk of cuckoo parasitism in Daurian redstarts, Phoenicurus auroreus. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Uchida K, Blumstein DT. Habituation or sensitization? Long-term responses of yellow-bellied marmots to human disturbance. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Continuous exposure to humans causes wildlife to either habituate or sensitize. Although increased tolerance may play an important role in coexistence with humans, the mechanisms and fitness outcomes of long-term changes of tolerance are not fully understood because only a few studies have assessed individual- and population-level responses over many years. We developed a novel predictive framework to study habituation and sensitization to humans and applied it to yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) in areas of high and low human disturbance. We focused on two antipredator behaviors—time allocation to vigilance during foraging to quantify baseline vigilance levels and flight initiation distance (FID)—to quantify subsequent responsiveness to threat. We used the rate of body mass gain during the active season as a fitness outcome. Assessing 15 years’ population and individual-level responses to human disturbances, marmots in highly disturbed colonies allocated more time to vigilance, but this did not change over time. FID decreased on average when they were approached more and also tended to decrease in highly disturbed colonies and over 15 years. Yet, there was individuality in FIDs; marmots that fled at greater distances became sensitized with repeated approaches. Additionally, the marmots in highly disturbed colonies gained less body mass over time compared to conspecifics in less disturbed colonies. These results suggested that, although marmots habituated to humans, long-term human disturbance has negative fitness consequences. Our framework should help wildlife managers evaluate the comprehensive impact of human activities on wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Uchida
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Box 519, Crested Butte, CO, USA
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9
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Lakin R, Hendrie C. Effects of alarm call playback on the behaviour of wild European herring gulls. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2020.101691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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10
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Sarmento W, Berger J. Conservation implications of using an imitation carnivore to assess rarely used refuges as critical habitat features in an alpine ungulate. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9296. [PMID: 32566402 PMCID: PMC7295023 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding relationships between animals and their habitat is a central goal in ecology with important implications for conservation. Misidentified habitat requirements can have serious repercussions because land protection or reintroductions might occur in less than optimal habitat. Studies of resource selection have greatly facilitated an understanding of ecological relationships but can be improved when vital yet infrequently utilized habitat features are more fully described. A critical element for many prey species is escape terrain or some other form of refuge to avoid predation. Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are well known for their use of cliffs to avoid predation, but a survey of the literature revealed at least twelve different approximations of goat escape terrain, ranging from > 25° to > 50° slopes. Here, we seek to (1) enhance estimates of mountain goat escape terrain and antipredator behavior, and (2) highlight the limitations of the assumption that the time an animal spends in an area is proportional to importance. To improve estimates of goat escape terrain, we conducted field work across two years (2014–15) in Glacier National Park, Montana USA and manipulated apparent predation risk by exposing mountain goats to a threatening simulated grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) treatment and a non-threatening ungulate (control) treatment. Mountain goats moved in response to the simulated bear but not in response to the simulated ungulate, with shorter latencies to move for subjects in larger groups and at shorter distances to the simulated threat. Through a used-unused resource selection function we tested 22 landscape variables to describe the use of escape terrain. Proximity to slopes greater than 60° best explained the locations to which mountain goats fled after exposure to the simulated bear, and the average slope of these escape locations was 56.5° (±14.1 S.D.). Our results suggest that mountain goat escape terrain be considered at slopes of 60° as a minimum because our simulated threat did not include pursuit of goats and, thus, slopes of 60° are likely underestimates of actual escape terrain. Additionally, because direct interactions between carnivores and goats seldom occur, serious escape terrain is infrequently used. Past estimates of escape may have miscalculated the slopes which goats select for in response to predation risk. Based on experimental approaches in the wild, we suggest that anti-predator behavior should be included in studies of resource selection when the goal is to consider habitat as a predictor for conservation success. Finally, we discuss evidence suggesting a past mountain goat introduction failed due to lack of adequate escape terrain and subsequent recolonization of a predator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Sarmento
- Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Conrad, MT, USA
| | - Joel Berger
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY, USA
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11
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Adams DB, Kitchen DM. Model vs. playback experiments: The impact of sensory mode on predator‐specific escape responses in saki monkeys. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dara B. Adams
- Department of Anthropology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
- Department of Anthropology Humboldt State University Arcata CA USA
| | - Dawn M. Kitchen
- Department of Anthropology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
- Department of Anthropology The Ohio State University Mansfield OH USA
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12
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Watts ET, Johnson CN, Carver S, Butler C, Harvey AM, Cameron EZ. Maternal protectiveness in feral horses: responses to intraspecific and interspecific sources of risk. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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13
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Zanette LY, Hobbs EC, Witterick LE, MacDougall-Shackleton SA, Clinchy M. Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11474. [PMID: 31391473 PMCID: PMC6685979 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47684-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Predator-induced fear is both, one of the most common stressors employed in animal model studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a major focus of research in ecology. There has been a growing discourse between these disciplines but no direct empirical linkage. We endeavoured to provide this empirical linkage by conducting experiments drawing upon the strengths of both disciplines. Exposure to a natural cue of predator danger (predator vocalizations), had enduring effects of at least 7 days duration involving both, a heightened sensitivity to predator danger (indicative of an enduring memory of fear), and elevated neuronal activation in both the amygdala and hippocampus – in wild birds (black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus), exposed to natural environmental and social experiences in the 7 days following predator exposure. Our results demonstrate enduring effects on the brain and behaviour, meeting the criteria to be considered an animal model of PTSD – in a wild animal, which are of a nature and degree which can be anticipated could affect fecundity and survival in free-living wildlife. We suggest our findings support both the proposition that PTSD is not unnatural, and that long-lasting effects of predator-induced fear, with likely effects on fecundity and survival, are the norm in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.
| | - Emma C Hobbs
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lauren E Witterick
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Scott A MacDougall-Shackleton
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.,The Advanced Facility for Avian Research, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
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15
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Dannock RJ, Pays O, Renaud PC, Maron M, Goldizen AW. Assessing blue wildebeests' vigilance, grouping and foraging responses to perceived predation risk using playback experiments. Behav Processes 2019; 164:252-259. [PMID: 31121214 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Two aspects of reactive antipredator behaviour are still unclear for ungulates. First, when there is a direct predation threat, how do prey balance antipredator and social vigilance to learn a predator's location and assess the risk? Second, how do an individual's group and environment affect its responses? We tested the responses of adult females in 101 groups of wildebeest to playbacks of lion roars or car noises in Etosha National Park, Namibia. We analysed how the times they spent in different types categories of vigilance, and their within-group density, were affected by the playbacks and how a range of social and environmental variables affected those responses. Females increased their antipredator vigilance but not their social vigilance, after lion roars but not car noises, suggesting that they mostly relied on their own vigilance rather than social information to try to find the source of the lion roars. Females' antipredator vigilance increased more when they were further from cover and with other prey species, suggesting that both circumstances increased their perception of risk. They 'bunched' more after lion roars than car noises and their bite rates decreased as they bunched. Animals' use of social information about threats is likely to be context-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Dannock
- School of Biological Sciences, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
| | - O Pays
- UMR CNRS 6554 LETG-Angers, Université d'Angers, 2 Bd Lavoisier, F-49045, Angers, France; LTSER France, CNRS, Hwange National Park, Bag 62, Dete, Zimbabwe
| | - P-C Renaud
- UMR CNRS 6554 LETG-Angers, Université d'Angers, 2 Bd Lavoisier, F-49045, Angers, France
| | - M Maron
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
| | - A W Goldizen
- School of Biological Sciences, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
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Alarm calls or predator calls: which elicit stronger responses in ungulate communities living with and without lions? Oecologia 2019; 190:25-35. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04391-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Policht R, Hart V, Goncharov D, Surový P, Hanzal V, Červený J, Burda H. Vocal recognition of a nest-predator in black grouse. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6533. [PMID: 30891367 PMCID: PMC6422015 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Corvids count among the important predators of bird nests. They are vocal animals and one can expect that birds threatened by their predation, such as black grouse, are sensitive to and recognize their calls. Within the framework of field studies, we noticed that adult black grouse were alerted by raven calls during periods outside the breeding season. Since black grouse are large, extremely precocial birds, this reaction can hardly be explained by sensitization specifically to the threat of nest predation by ravens. This surprising observation prompted us to study the phenomenon more systematically. According to our knowledge, the response of birds to corvid vocalization has been studied in altricial birds only. We tested whether the black grouse distinguishes and responds specifically to playback calls of the common raven. Black grouse recognized raven calls and were alerted, displaying typical neck stretching, followed by head scanning, and eventual escape. Surprisingly, males tended to react faster and exhibited a longer duration of vigilance behavior compared to females. Although raven calls are recognized by adult black grouse out of the nesting period, they are not directly endangered by the raven. We speculate that the responsiveness of adult grouse to raven calls might be explained as a learned response in juveniles from nesting hens that is then preserved in adults, or by a known association between the raven and the red fox. In that case, calls of the raven would be rather interpreted as a warning signal of probable proximity of the red fox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Policht
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vlastimil Hart
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Denis Goncharov
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Surový
- Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Hanzal
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Červený
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Hynek Burda
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
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Costelloe BR, Rubenstein DI. Temporal structuring of vigilance behaviour by female Thomson's gazelles with hidden fawns. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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19
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Fisher KA, Stankowich T. Antipredator strategies of striped skunks in response to cues of aerial and terrestrial predators. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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20
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Roncalli G, Colombo E, Soler M, Tieleman BI, Versteegh MA, Ruiz-Raya F, Gómez Samblas M, Ibáñez-Álamo JD. Nest predation risk modifies nestlings' immune function depending on the level of threat. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.170662. [PMID: 29666198 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.170662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Predation risk is thought to modify the physiology of prey mainly through the stress response. However, little is known about its potential effects on the immunity of animals, particularly in young individuals, despite the importance of overcoming wounding and pathogen aggression following a predator attack. We investigated the effect of four progressive levels of nest predation risk on several components of the immune system in common blackbird (Turdus merula) nestlings by presenting them with four different calls during 1 h: non-predator calls, predator calls, parental alarm calls and conspecific distress calls to induce a null, moderate, high and extreme level of risk, respectively. Nest predation risk induced an increase in ovotransferrin, immunoglobulin and the number of lymphocytes and eosinophils. Thus, the perception of a potential predator per se could stimulate the mobilization of a nestling's immune function and enable the organism to rapidly respond to the immune stimuli imposed by a predator attack. Interestingly, only high and extreme levels of risk caused immunological changes, suggesting that different immunological parameters are modulated according to the perceived level of threat. We also found a mediator role of parasites (i.e. Leucocytozoon) and the current health status of the individual, as only nestlings not parasitized or in good body condition were able to modify their immune system. This study highlights a previously unknown link between predation risk and immunity, emphasizing the complex relationship among different selective pressures (predation, parasitism) in developing organisms and accentuating the importance of studying predation from a physiological point of view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Roncalli
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Elisa Colombo
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Manuel Soler
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - B Irene Tieleman
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maaike A Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Fran Ruiz-Raya
- Department of Zoology, University of Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Mercedes Gómez Samblas
- Biochemistry and Molecular Parasitology Research Group, Department of Parasitology, University of Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, E-18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
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Parejo D, Avilés JM, Expósito-Granados M. Receivers matter: the meaning of alarm calls and competition for nest sites in a bird community. Oecologia 2018; 187:707-717. [PMID: 29637297 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4139-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Animal communities may constitute information networks where individuals gain information on predation risk by eavesdropping on alarm calls of other species. However, communities include species in different trophic levels, and it is not yet known how the trophic level of the receiver influences the informative value of a call. Furthermore, no empirical study has yet tested how increased competition may influence the value of alarm calls for distinct receivers. Here, we identify the importance of alarm calls emitted by a small owl, the little owl (Athene noctua), on the structure of a cavity-nesting bird community including mesopredators and primary prey under variable levels of competition for nest holes. Competitors sharing top predators with the callers and prey of the callers interpreted alarm and non-alarm calls differently. Competitors chose preferentially alarm and non-alarm patches over control patches to breed, while prey selected alarm patches. In contrast, competition for nest sites affected habitat selection of prey species more than that of competitors of the callers. This study provides support for a changing value of alarm calls and competition for nest sites for distinct receivers related to niche overlapping among callers and eavesdroppers, therefore, calling attention to possible cascading effects by the use of information in natural communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deseada Parejo
- Department of Anatomy, Cellular Biology and Zoology, University of Extremadura, 06006, Badajoz, Spain. .,Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, 04120, Almería, Spain.
| | - Jesús M Avilés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, EEZA-CSIC, 04120, Almería, Spain
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22
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Predicting Predator Recognition in a Changing World. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:106-115. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Revised: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Social security: social relationship strength and connectedness influence how marmots respond to alarm calls. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2374-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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25
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West R, Letnic M, Blumstein DT, Moseby KE. Predator exposure improves anti-predator responses in a threatened mammal. J Appl Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca West
- Centre for Ecosystem Science; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of New South Wales; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Mike Letnic
- Centre for Ecosystem Science; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of New South Wales; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles CA USA
| | - Katherine E. Moseby
- Centre for Ecosystem Science; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of New South Wales; Sydney NSW Australia
- Arid Recovery Ltd.; Roxby Downs SA Australia
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26
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Abstract
Female song is an ancestral trait in songbirds, yet extant females generally sing less than males. Here, we examine sex differences in the predation cost of singing behaviour. The superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) is a Southern Hemisphere songbird; males and females provision the brood and produce solo song year-round. Both sexes had higher song rate during the fertile period and lower song rate during incubation and chick feeding. Females were more likely than males to sing close to or inside the nest. For this reason, female but not male song rate predicted egg and nestling predation. This study identifies a high fitness cost of song when a parent bird attends offspring inside a nest and explains gender differences in singing when there are gender differences in parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia
| | - Christine Evans
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia
| | - Katharina Mahr
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstrasse 1a, Vienna 1160, Austria
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Suraci JP, Roberts DJ, Clinchy M, Zanette LY. Fearlessness towards extirpated large carnivores may exacerbate the impacts of naïve mesocarnivores. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Suraci JP, Clinchy M, Dill LM, Roberts D, Zanette LY. Fear of large carnivores causes a trophic cascade. Nat Commun 2016; 7:10698. [PMID: 26906881 PMCID: PMC4766389 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 191] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The fear large carnivores inspire, independent of their direct killing of prey, may itself cause cascading effects down food webs potentially critical for conserving ecosystem function, particularly by affecting large herbivores and mesocarnivores. However, the evidence of this has been repeatedly challenged because it remains experimentally untested. Here we show that experimentally manipulating fear itself in free-living mesocarnivore (raccoon) populations using month-long playbacks of large carnivore vocalizations caused just such cascading effects, reducing mesocarnivore foraging to the benefit of the mesocarnivore's prey, which in turn affected a competitor and prey of the mesocarnivore's prey. We further report that by experimentally restoring the fear of large carnivores in our study system, where most large carnivores have been extirpated, we succeeded in reversing this mesocarnivore's impacts. We suggest that our results reinforce the need to conserve large carnivores given the significant “ecosystem service” the fear of them provides. Top predators may indirectly influence ecological processes through fear-induced behavioural changes in their prey. By experimentally manipulating this ‘landscape of fear', Suraci et al. show that fear of large carnivores in a mesopredator can cause cascading effects down the food web that benefit its prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin P Suraci
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2Y2.,Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 3Y3.,Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - Lawrence M Dill
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Devin Roberts
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2Y2
| | - Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
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Blumstein DT, Flores G, Munoz NE. Does Locomotor Ability Influence Flight Initiation Distance in Yellow-Bellied Marmots? Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles CA USA
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory; Crested Butte CO USA
| | - Guadalupe Flores
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles CA USA
| | - Nicole E. Munoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles CA USA
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van der Meer E, Fritz H, Pays O. Anti-predator behaviour of kudu and impala in response to mimicked African wild dog presence: do age and sex matter? BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Predators not only prey upon certain prey species, but also on certain age–sex classes within species. Predation risk and an individual’s response to this risk might therefore vary with an individual’s characteristics. We examined the proportion of time different age–sex classes of kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) spent high quality vigilant (costly vigilance that detracts from all other activities) in response to mimicked predation risk by African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). For both species predation risk was the main factor determining the investment in high quality vigilance behaviour. Age–sex class-specific responses were not related to age–sex class specific lethality risk presented by African wild dogs. For impala, regardless of predation risk, age seemed to have some effect on the investment in high quality vigilance with sub-adult impala spending more time high quality vigilant than adult impala, which is possibly why African wild dogs predominantly preyed upon adult impala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther van der Meer
- Painted Dog Conservation, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe
- Université de Lyon, CNRS Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Băt Gregor Mendel, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Hervé Fritz
- Université de Lyon, CNRS Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 UMR 5558, Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Băt Gregor Mendel, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
- CNRS HERD program, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 62, Dete, Zimbabwe
| | - Olivier Pays
- CNRS HERD program, Hwange National Park, P.O. Box 62, Dete, Zimbabwe
- Université d’Angers–UFR Sciences, Groupe Ecologie et Biologie de la Conservation Campus de Belle-Beille, 2 Bd Lavoisier, F-49045 Angers, France
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Heterospecific alarm call eavesdropping in nonvocal, white-bellied copper-striped skinks, Emoia cyanura. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Weissburg M, Smee DL, Ferner MC. The sensory ecology of nonconsumptive predator effects. Am Nat 2014; 184:141-57. [PMID: 25058276 DOI: 10.1086/676644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) have been shown to occur in numerous systems and are regarded as important mechanisms by which predation structures natural communities. Sensory ecology-that is, the processes governing the production, propagation, and masking of cues by ambient noise-provides insights into the strength of NCEs as functions of the environment and modes of information transfer. We discuss how properties of predators are used by prey to encode threat, how the environment affects cue propagation, and the role of single sensory processes versus multimodal sensory processes. We discuss why the present body of literature documents the potential for strong NCEs but does not allow us to easily determine how this potential is expressed in nature or what factors or environments produce strong versus weak NCEs. Many of these difficulties stem from a body of literature in which certain sensory environments and modalities may be disproportionately represented and in which experimental methodologies are designed to show the existence of NCEs. We present a general framework for examining NCEs to identify the factors controlling the number of prey that respond to predator cues and discuss how the properties of predators, prey, and the environment may determine prey perceptive range and the duration and frequency of cue production. We suggest how understanding these relationships provides a schema for determining where, when, why, and how NCEs are important in producing direct and cascading effects in natural communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Weissburg
- School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332
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33
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Hettena AM, Munoz N, Blumstein DT. Prey Responses to Predator's Sounds: A Review and Empirical Study. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole Munoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles CA USA
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory; Crested Butte CO USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles CA USA
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34
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Favreau FR, Pays O, Goldizen AW, Fritz H. Short-term behavioural responses of impalas in simulated antipredator and social contexts. PLoS One 2013; 8:e84970. [PMID: 24376859 PMCID: PMC3869902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 11/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Prey animals often have to trade off foraging against vigilance. However, vigilance is costly and individuals are expected to adjust their vigilance and its cost in relation to social cues and their predation risk. To test this, we conducted playback experiments in the field to study how lions’ (Panthera leo) roars and male impalas’ (Aepyceros melampus) territorial vocalizations affected the vigilance and foraging behaviours as well as movements of female impalas. Our results show that impalas adjusted their activities in different ways depending on the vocalizations broadcast. After lions’ roars were played, female impalas increased their vigilance activity (in particular increasing their high-cost vigilance – vigilance without chewing), decreased their bite rates and increased their movements, whereas male impalas’ vocalizations caused females to decrease their vigilance (decreasing their low-cost vigilance – vigilance while chewing) and increase their movements without affecting their bite rates. Therefore, it appears that predators’ vocalizations stimulate anti-predator behaviours such as vigilance and movement at the expense of foraging, whereas males’ vocalizations increase individuals’ displacements at the expense of vigilance. Overall, this study shows that both predator and social cues have direct effects on the behaviour of gregarious prey and need to be considered in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- François-René Favreau
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR-CNRS 5558, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Groupe Ecologie et Conservation, Université d’Angers, Angers, France
| | - Olivier Pays
- Groupe Ecologie et Conservation, Université d’Angers, Angers, France
- CNRS HERD Project, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
- * E-mail:
| | - Anne W. Goldizen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Hervé Fritz
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR-CNRS 5558, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- CNRS HERD Project, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
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MacLean SA, Bonter DN. The sound of danger: threat sensitivity to predator vocalizations, alarm calls, and novelty in gulls. PLoS One 2013; 8:e82384. [PMID: 24324780 PMCID: PMC3855757 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The threat sensitivity hypothesis predicts that organisms will evaluate the relative danger of and respond differentially to varying degrees of predation threat. Doing so allows potential prey to balance the costs and benefits of anti-predator behaviors. Threat sensitivity has undergone limited testing in the auditory modality, and the relative threat level of auditory cues from different sources is difficult to infer across populations when variables such as background risk and experience are not properly controlled. We experimentally exposed a single population of two sympatric gull species to auditory stimuli representing a range of potential threats in order to compare the relative threat of heterospecific alarm calls, conspecific alarms calls, predator vocalizations, and novel auditory cues. Gulls were able to discriminate among a diverse set of threat indicators and respond in a graded manner commensurate with the level of threat. Vocalizations of two potential predators, the human voice and bald eagle call, differed in their threat level compared to each other and to alarm calls. Conspecific alarm calls were more threatening than heterospecfic alarm calls to the larger great black-backed gull, but the smaller herring gull weighed both equally. A novel cue elicited a response intermediate between known threats and a known non-threat in herring gulls, but not great black-backed gulls. Our results show that the relative threat level of auditory cues from different sources is highly species-dependent, and that caution should be exercised when comparing graded and threshold threat sensitive responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A MacLean
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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36
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Kleindorfer S, Evans C, Colombelli-Négrel D, Robertson J, Griggio M, Hoi H. Host response to cuckoo song is predicted by the future risk of brood parasitism. Front Zool 2013; 10:30. [PMID: 23692969 PMCID: PMC3666891 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-10-30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Risk assessment occurs over different temporal and spatial scales and is selected for when individuals show an adaptive response to a threat. Here, we test if birds respond to the threat of brood parasitism using the acoustical cues of brood parasites in the absence of visual stimuli. We broadcast the playback of song of three brood parasites (Chalcites cuckoo species) and a sympatric non-parasite (striated thornbill, Acanthiza lineata) in the territories of superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) during the peak breeding period and opportunistic breeding period. The three cuckoo species differ in brood parasite prevalence and the probability of detection by the host, which we used to rank the risk of parasitism (high risk, moderate risk, low risk). Results Host birds showed the strongest response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism in accordance with the risk of parasitism. Resident wrens had many alarm calls and close and rapid approach to the playback speaker that was broadcasting song of the high risk brood parasite (Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo, C. basalis) across the year (peak and opportunistic breeding period), some response to the moderate risk brood parasite (shining bronze-cuckoo, C. lucidus) during the peak breeding period, and the weakest response to the low risk brood parasite (little bronze-cuckoo, C. minutillus). Playback of the familiar control stimulus in wren territories evoked the least response. Conclusion Host response to the threat of cuckoo parasitism was assessed using vocal cues of the cuckoo and was predicted by the risk of future parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, 5042, South Australia.
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Blumstein DT. Yellow-bellied marmots: insights from an emergent view of sociality. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120349. [PMID: 23569297 PMCID: PMC3638452 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological factors explain variation in sociality both within and between species of marmots-large alpine ground squirrels. Fifty years of study, by me and my colleagues, of the yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, near Crested Butte, CO, USA, has created opportunities to see how sociality changes with population and group size. Over the past decades, we have witnessed a natural experiment whereby the population tripled in size. If we view sociality as an emergent process, then demography acts as a constraint on interactions between individuals, and the threefold increase in population size should have consequences for group structure. We have used social network statistics to study the causes and consequences of social interactions by capitalizing on this demographic variation. Such an emergent view is ideally studied in an integrative Tinbergian way that focuses on both mechanism and function. We have determined that some social attributes are heritable, that social cohesion is established through age and kin structure, that well-embedded females (but not males) are less likely to disperse, and that there are fitness consequences of social attributes. Together, this integrative relationship-centred view expands on the traditional ecological model of sociality and offers a framework that can be applied to other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
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40
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Meer E, Pays O, Fritz H. The Effect of Simulated African Wild Dog Presence on Anti-predator Behaviour of Kudu and Impala. Ethology 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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41
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Polizzi di Sorrentino E, Schino G, Massaro L, Visalberghi E, Aureli F. Between-group hostility affects within-group interactions in tufted capuchin monkeys. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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42
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Barrera JP, Chong L, Judy KN, Blumstein DT. Reliability of public information: predators provide more information about risk than conspecifics. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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43
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Lea AJ, Blumstein DT. Age and sex influence marmot antipredator behavior during periods of heightened risk. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011; 65:1525-1533. [PMID: 21874082 PMCID: PMC3134770 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1162-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2010] [Revised: 09/24/2010] [Accepted: 02/21/2011] [Indexed: 10/30/2022]
Abstract
Animals adjust their antipredator behavior according to environmental variation in risk, and to account for their ability to respond to threats. Intrinsic factors that influence an animal's ability to respond to predators (e.g., age, body condition) should explain variation in antipredator behavior. For example, a juvenile might allocate more time to vigilance than an adult because mortality as a result of predation is often high for this age class; however, the relationship between age/vulnerability and antipredator behavior is not always clear or as predicted. We explored the influence of intrinsic factors on yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) antipredator behavior using data pooled from 4 years of experiments. We hypothesized that inherently vulnerable animals (e.g., young, males, and individuals in poor condition) would exhibit more antipredator behavior prior to and immediately following conspecific alarm calls. As expected, males and yearlings suppressed foraging more than females and adults following alarm call playbacks. In contrast to predictions, animals in better condition respond more than animals in below average condition. Interestingly, these intrinsic properties did not influence baseline time budgets; animals of all ages, sexes, and condition levels devoted comparable amounts of time to foraging prior to alarm calls. Our results support the hypothesis that inherent differences in vulnerability influence antipredator behavior; furthermore, it appears that a crucial, but poorly acknowledged, interaction exists between risk and state-dependence. Elevated risk may be required to reveal the workings of state-dependent behavior, and studies of antipredator behavior in a single context may draw incomplete conclusions about age- or sex-specific strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J Lea
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606 USA
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Holmes TH, McCormick MI. Response across a gradient: behavioural reactions of newly settled fish to predation cues. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Li C, Monclús R, Maul TL, Jiang Z, Blumstein DT. Quantifying human disturbance on antipredator behavior and flush initiation distance in yellow-bellied marmots. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2010.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Schuchmann M, Siemers BM. Behavioral evidence for community-wide species discrimination from echolocation calls in bats. Am Nat 2010; 176:72-82. [PMID: 20459322 DOI: 10.1086/652993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Recognizing species identity is crucial for many aspects of animal life and is often mediated by acoustic signals. Although most animals are able to distinguish acoustic signals of their own species from other sympatrically occurring species, it is yet unknown whether animals can distinguish among acoustic signals of different closely related sympatric species. In this context, echolocating bats are a particularly interesting model system: their echolocation system evolved primarily for spatial orientation and foraging, but recent studies indicate that echolocation also has an important communicative function. Yet, the role of echolocation calls for species discrimination and thus potentially for interspecific communication has not been investigated. Using a behavioral discrimination assay, we found that two species of wild horseshoe bats could discriminate calls of their own species from those of three sympatric congeneric species. We further show that the bats were able to discriminate between echolocation calls of different congeneric species from the local community. In both cases, discrimination ability was high despite strong overlap of species' call frequency bands. This study provides the first experimental evidence for species discrimination based on echolocation calls. On a more general level, it shows for the first time that animals can distinguish among acoustic signals of different closely related and ecologically similar species from their local community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maike Schuchmann
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Ratnayake CP, Goodale E, Kotagama SW. Two sympatric species of passerine birds imitate the same raptor calls in alarm contexts. Naturwissenschaften 2009; 97:103-8. [PMID: 19937310 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-009-0617-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2009] [Revised: 10/06/2009] [Accepted: 10/09/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
While some avian mimics appear to select sounds randomly, other species preferentially imitate sounds such as predator calls that are associated with danger. Previous work has shown that the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) incorporates predator calls and heterospecific alarm calls into its own species-typical alarm vocalizations. Here, we show that another passerine species, the Sri Lanka Magpie (Urocissa ornata), which inhabits the same Sri Lankan rainforest, imitates three of the same predator calls that drongos do. For two of these call types, there is evidence that magpies also use them in alarm contexts. Our results support the hypothesis that imitated predator calls can serve as signals of alarm to multiple species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaminda P Ratnayake
- Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo, 3, Sri Lanka,
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A test of the multipredator hypothesis: yellow-bellied marmots respond fearfully to the sight of novel and extinct predators. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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49
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Bednekoff PA, Blumstein DT. Peripheral obstructions influence marmot vigilance: integrating observational and experimental results. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Caldwell MS, McDaniel JG, Warkentin KM. Frequency information in the vibration-cued escape hatching of red-eyed treefrogs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 212:566-75. [PMID: 19181904 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.026518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Incidental acoustic and vibrational cues generated by predators are a potential source of information for prey assessing risk. Substrate vibrations should be excited by most predators, and frequency, amplitude or temporal properties could allow prey to distinguish predator from benign-source vibrations. Red-eyed treefrog embryos detect egg predators using vibrations excited during attacks, hatching rapidly and prematurely to escape. We recorded vibrations in egg clutches during attacks by five species of predators and three common types of benign physical disturbance. We analyzed their frequency distributions to assess if and how frequency properties could be used to discriminate between vibration sources and used vibration playbacks to examine the effects of frequency properties on the escape hatching response. Vibrations produced by predators and benign disturbances generally have broad and overlapping frequency distributions, and all frequencies excited by attacks are also excited by benign disturbances. Decision rules based on the frequency distribution of vibrations alone would therefore result in either high levels of hatching in response to benign vibrations (false alarms) or common failures to hatch in response to predators (missed cues). Nevertheless, embryos hatch in response to predator and not benign disturbances in nature, and our playback results show that vibration frequency information is an important component of their hatching decision. Embryos combine frequency with temporal information to refine their hatching response. Moreover, comparing frequency spectra of predator and benign vibrations suggests that the presence of energy in frequencies outside the range characteristic of attacks might serve as an indicator of benign disturbance.
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