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McNew SM, Taff CC, Zimmer C, Uehling JJ, Ryan TA, Chang van Oordt D, Houtz JL, Injaian AS, Vitousek MN. Developmental stage-dependent effects of perceived predation risk on nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Ecology 2024; 105:e4307. [PMID: 38724013 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
The risk of predation directly affects the physiology, behavior, and fitness of wild birds. Strong social connections with conspecifics could help individuals recover from a stressful experience such as a predation event; however, competitive interactions also have the potential to exacerbate stress. Few studies have investigated the interaction between environmental stressors and the social landscape in wild bird populations. In 2 years of field studies, we experimentally simulated predation attempts on breeding female tree swallows (Tachicyneta bicolor). At the same time, we manipulated female breast plumage color, a key social signal. Simulated predation events on tree swallows early in the nestling period reduced young nestlings' mass by approximately 20% and shortened telomere lengths. Ultimately, only 31% of nestlings in the predation group fledged compared with 70% of control nestlings. However, the effects of experimental manipulations were timing dependent: the following year when we swapped the order of the experimental manipulations and simulated predation during incubation, there were no significant effects of predation on nestling condition or fledging success. Contrary to our expectations, manipulation of the social environment did not affect the response of tree swallows to simulated predation. However, manipulating female plumage during the nestling period did reduce nestling skeletal size and mass, although the effects depended on original plumage brightness. Our data demonstrate that transient stressors on female birds can have carry-over effects on their nestlings if they occur during critical periods in the breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina M McNew
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Conor C Taff
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Cedric Zimmer
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Jennifer J Uehling
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Thomas A Ryan
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - David Chang van Oordt
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Jennifer L Houtz
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Allison S Injaian
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Maren N Vitousek
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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2
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Artana C, Capitani L, Santos Garcia G, Angelini R, Coll M. Food web trophic control modulates tropical Atlantic reef ecosystems response to marine heat wave intensity and duration. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 38790092 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are episodes of anomalous warming in the ocean that can last from a few days to years. MHWs have different characteristics in terms of intensity, duration and frequency and generate thermal stress in marine ecosystems. In reef ecosystems, they are one of the main causes of the decreased presence and abundance of corals, invertebrates and fish. The deleterious capacity of thermal stress often depends on biotic factors, such as the trophic control of predators on prey. Despite the evidence of thermal stress and biotic factors affecting individual species, the combined effects of both stressors on entire reef ecosystems are much less studied. Here, using a food web modelling approach, we estimated the rate of change in species' biomass due to different MHW characteristics. Specifically, we modelled the mechanistic link between species' consumption rate and seawater temperature (thermal stressor), simulating species' biomass dynamics for different MHW characteristics under different trophic control assumptions (top-down, mixed trophic control and bottom-up). We find that total reef ecosystem biomass declined by 10% ± 5% under MHWs with severe intensity and a top-down control assumption. The bottom-up control assumption moderates the total ecosystem biomass reduction by 5% ± 5%. Irrespective of the MHW characteristics and the trophic control assumption, the most substantial biomass changes occur among top, mesopredators and corals (5% to 20% ± 10%). We show that reef ecosystems where predators exert top-down control on prey are prone to suffer species abundance declines under strong MHW events. We identify food web trophic control as a crucial driver that modulates the impacts of MHWs. Overall, our results provide a unified understanding of the interplay between abiotic stressors and biotic factors in reef ecosystems under extreme thermal events, offering insights into present baselines and future ecological states for reef ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Artana
- Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
- Laboratoire LOCEAN-IPSL, Sorbonne Université (UPMC, Université Paris 6), CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Paris, France
| | - Leonardo Capitani
- Post-Graduate Program in Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Gabriel Santos Garcia
- Post-Graduate Program in Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ronaldo Angelini
- Departamento de Engenharia Civil e Ambiental, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, Brazil
| | - Marta Coll
- Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
- Ecopath International Initiative (EII), Barcelona, Spain
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3
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McGann K, Johnson CN, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, Cunningham CX. Fear of the human 'super predator' in native marsupials and introduced deer in Australia. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232849. [PMID: 38775542 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2849] [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: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent experiments have demonstrated that carnivores and ungulates in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America fear the human 'super predator' far more than other predators. Australian mammals have been a focus of research on predator naiveté because it is suspected they show atypical antipredator responses. To experimentally test if mammals in Australia also most fear humans, we quantified the responses of four native marsupials (eastern grey kangaroo, Bennett's wallaby, Tasmanian pademelon, common brushtail possum) and introduced fallow deer to playbacks of predator (human, dog, Tasmanian devil, wolf) or non-predator control (sheep) vocalizations. Native marsupials most feared the human 'super predator', fleeing humans 2.4 times more often than the next most frightening predator (dogs), and being most, and significantly, vigilant to humans. These results demonstrate that native marsupials are not naïve to the peril humans pose, substantially expanding the taxonomic and geographic scope of the growing experimental evidence that wildlife worldwide generally perceive humans as the planet's most frightening predator. Introduced fallow deer fled humans, but not more than other predators, which we suggest may result from their being introduced. Our results point to both challenges concerning marsupial conservation and opportunities for exploiting fear of humans as a wildlife management tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine McGann
- School of Natural Resources, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55 , Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Christopher N Johnson
- School of Natural Resources, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55 , Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University , London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University , London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Calum X Cunningham
- School of Natural Resources, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55 , Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195-2100, USA
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4
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Szymkowiak J. Auditory risk recognition is socially transmitted across territory borders in wild birds. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:19. [PMID: 38429547 PMCID: PMC10907423 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01858-6] [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: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Prey species commonly assess predation risk based on acoustic signals, such as predator vocalizations or heterospecific alarm calls. The resulting risk-sensitive decision-making affects not only the behavior and life-history of individual prey, but also has far-reaching ecological consequences for population, community, and ecosystem dynamics. Although auditory risk recognition is ubiquitous in animals, it remains unclear how individuals gain the ability to recognize specific sounds as cues of a threat. Here, it has been shown that free-living birds (Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix) can learn to recognize unfamiliar, complex sounds (samples of punk rock songs) as cues of a threat from conspecifics holding adjacent territories during the spring breeding season. In a playback experiment, Wood Warblers initially ignored the unfamiliar sounds, but after repeatedly hearing that these sounds trigger alarm calling reaction of neighbors, most individuals showed an anti-predator response to them. Moreover, once learned soon after nestlings hatching, the anti-predator response of parents toward previously unfamiliar sounds was then retained over the entire nestlings rearing period. These results demonstrate that social learning via the association of unfamiliar sounds with known alarm signals enables the spread of anti-predator behavior across territory borders and provides a mechanism explaining the widespread abilities of animals to assess predation risk based on acoustic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Szymkowiak
- Faculty of Biology, Forest Biology Center, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.
- Population Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.
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5
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Fortuna R, Covas R, D'Amelio PB, Silva LR, Parenteau C, Bliard L, Rybak F, Doutrelant C, Paquet M. Interplay of cooperative breeding and predation risk on egg allocation and reproductive output. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae010. [PMID: 38486920 PMCID: PMC10939053 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Predation risk can influence behavior, reproductive investment, and, ultimately, individuals' fitness. In high-risk environments, females often reduce allocation to reproduction, which can affect offspring phenotype and breeding success. In cooperative breeders, helpers contribute to feed the offspring, and groups often live and forage together. Helpers can, therefore, improve reproductive success, but also influence breeders' condition, stress levels and predation risk. Yet, whether helper presence can buffer the effects of predation risk on maternal reproductive allocation remains unstudied. Here, we used the cooperatively breeding sociable weaver Philetairus socius to test the interactive effects of predation risk and breeding group size on maternal allocation to clutch size, egg mass, yolk mass, and yolk corticosterone. We increased perceived predation risk before egg laying using playbacks of the adults' main predator, gabar goshawk (Micronisus gabar). We also tested the interactive effects of group size and prenatal predator playbacks on offspring hatching and fledging probability. Predator-exposed females laid eggs with 4% lighter yolks, but predator-calls' exposure did not clearly affect clutch size, egg mass, or egg corticosterone levels. Playback-treatment effects on yolk mass were independent of group size, suggesting that helpers' presence did not mitigate predation risk effects on maternal allocation. Although predator-induced reductions in yolk mass may decrease nutrient availability to offspring, potentially affecting their survival, playback-treatment effects on hatching and fledging success were not evident. The interplay between helper presence and predator effects on maternal reproductive investment is still an overlooked area of life history and physiological evolutionary trade-offs that requires further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Fortuna
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002, Porto, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Institutt for Biologi, NTNU, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Rita Covas
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- FitzPatrick Institute, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Pietro B D'Amelio
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, 91400, Saclay, France
| | - Liliana R Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Louis Bliard
- Department of Evolutionary Biology & Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fanny Rybak
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, 91400, Saclay, France
| | - Claire Doutrelant
- FitzPatrick Institute, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, 34293, Montpellier, France
| | - Matthieu Paquet
- Institute of Mathematics of Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, 33405, Talence, France
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (SETE), CNRS, 09200, Moulis, France
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6
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Zanette LY, Frizzelle NR, Clinchy M, Peel MJS, Keller CB, Huebner SE, Packer C. Fear of the human "super predator" pervades the South African savanna. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4689-4696.e4. [PMID: 37802052 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Lions have long been perceived as Africa's, if not the world's, most fearsome terrestrial predator,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 the "king of beasts". Wildlife's fear of humans may, however, be far more powerful and all-prevailing1,10 as recent global surveys show that humans kill prey at much higher rates than other predators,10,11,12 due partly to technologies such as hunting with dogs or guns.11,13,14,15 We comprehensively experimentally tested whether wildlife's fear of humans exceeds even that of lions, by quantifying fear responses1 in the majority of carnivore and ungulate species (n = 19) inhabiting South Africa`s Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP),9,15,16,17 using automated camera-speaker systems9,18 at waterholes during the dry season that broadcast playbacks of humans, lions, hunting sounds (dogs, gunshots) or non-predator controls (birds).9,19,20,21,22 Fear of humans significantly exceeded that of lions throughout the savanna mammal community. As a whole (n = 4,238 independent trials), wildlife were twice as likely to run (p < 0.001) and abandoned waterholes in 40% faster time (p < 0.001) in response to humans than to lions (or hunting sounds). Fully 95% of species ran more from humans than lions (significantly in giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras, kudu, warthog, and impala) or abandoned waterholes faster (significantly in rhinoceroses and elephants). Our results greatly strengthen the growing experimental evidence that wildlife worldwide fear the human "super predator" far more than other predators,1,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28 and the very substantial fear of humans demonstrated can be expected to cause considerable ecological impacts,1,6,22,23,24,29,30,31,32,33,34,35 presenting challenges for tourism-dependent conservation,1,36,37 particularly in Africa,38,39 while providing new opportunities to protect some species.1,22,40.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.
| | | | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michael J S Peel
- ARC - Animal Production Institute, Rangeland Ecology Group, Mbombela 1200, South Africa; School for Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2017, South Africa; Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa
| | - Carson B Keller
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Sarah E Huebner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Craig Packer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
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7
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Cohen H, Matar MA, Todder D, Cohen C, Zohar J, Hawlena H, Abramsky Z. Sounds of danger and post-traumatic stress responses in wild rodents: ecological validity of a translational model of post-traumatic stress disorder. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4719-4728. [PMID: 37674017 PMCID: PMC10914612 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02240-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
In the wild, animals face a highly variable world full of predators. Most predator attacks are unsuccessful, and the prey survives. According to the conventional perspective, the fear responses elicited by predators are acute and transient in nature. However, the long-term, non-lethal effects of predator exposure on prey behavioral stress sequelae, such as anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms, remain poorly understood. Most experiments on animal models of anxiety-related behavior or post-traumatic stress disorder have been carried out using commercial strains of rats and mice. A fundamental question is whether laboratory rodents appropriately express the behavioral responses of wild species in their natural environment; in other words, whether behavioral responses to stress observed in the laboratory can be generalized to natural behavior. To further elucidate the relative contributions of the natural selection pressures influences, this study investigated the bio-behavioral and morphological effects of auditory predator cues (owl territorial calls) in males and females of three wild rodent species in a laboratory set-up: Acomys cahirinus; Gerbillus henleyi; and Gerbillus gerbillus. Our results indicate that owl territorial calls elicited not only "fight or flight" behavioral responses but caused PTSD-like behavioral responses in wild rodents that have never encountered owls in nature and could cause, in some individuals, enduring physiological and morphological responses that parallel those seen in laboratory rodents or traumatized people. In all rodent species, the PTSD phenotype was characterized by a blunting of fecal cortisol metabolite response early after exposure and by a lower hypothalamic orexin-A level and lower total dendritic length and number in the dentate gyrus granule cells eight days after predator exposure. Phenotypically, this refers to a significant functional impairment that could affect reproduction and survival and thus fitness and population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagit Cohen
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel & Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
| | - Michael A Matar
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel & Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Doron Todder
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel & Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Carmit Cohen
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel & Ministry of Health, Anxiety and Stress Research Unit, Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Joseph Zohar
- Post-Trauma Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 52621, Israel
| | - Hadas Hawlena
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion Israel, Sde Boker, 8499000, Israel
| | - Zvika Abramsky
- Department of Life Sciences and Ramon Science Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
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Bhattacharya S, MacCallum PE, Dayma M, McGrath-Janes A, King B, Dawson L, Bambico FR, Berry MD, Yuan Q, Martin GM, Preisser EL, Blundell JJ. A short pre-conception bout of predation risk affects both children and grandchildren. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10886. [PMID: 37407623 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37455-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic events that affect physiology and behavior in the current generation may also impact future generations. We demonstrate that an ecologically realistic degree of predation risk prior to conception causes lasting changes in the first filial (F1) and second filial (F2) generations. We exposed male and female mice to a live rat (predator stress) or control (non-predator) condition for 5 min. Ten days later, stressed males and females were bred together as were control males and females. Adult F1 offspring from preconception-stressed parents responded to a mild stressor with more anxiety-like behavior and hyperarousal than offspring from control parents. Exposing these F1 offspring to the mild stressor increased neuronal activity (cFOS) in the hippocampus and altered glucocorticoid system function peripherally (plasma corticosterone levels). Even without the mild stressor, F1 offspring from preconception-stressed parents still exhibited more anxiety-like behaviors than controls. Cross-fostering studies confirmed that preconception stress, not maternal social environment, determined offspring behavioral phenotype. The effects of preconception parental stress were also unexpectedly persistent and produced similar behavioral phenotypes in the F2 offspring. Our data illustrate that a surprisingly small amount of preconception predator stress alters the brain, physiology, and behavior of future generations. A better understanding of the 'long shadow' cast by fearful events is critical for understanding the adaptive costs and benefits of transgenerational plasticity. It also suggests the intriguing possibility that similar risk-induced changes are the rule rather than the exception in free-living organisms, and that such multigenerational impacts are as ubiquitous as they are cryptic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriya Bhattacharya
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
- Northwestern Polytechnic, Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 4C4, Canada
| | - Phillip E MacCallum
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Mrunal Dayma
- Department of Biochemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Andrea McGrath-Janes
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Brianna King
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Laura Dawson
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Francis R Bambico
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Mark D Berry
- Department of Biochemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Qi Yuan
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Gerard M Martin
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Evan L Preisser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
| | - Jacqueline J Blundell
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada.
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9
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Krama T, Munkevics M, Krams R, Grigorjeva T, Trakimas G, Jõers P, Popovs S, Zants K, Elferts D, Rantala MJ, Sledevskis E, Contreras-Garduño J, de Bivort BL, Krams IA. Development under predation risk increases serotonin-signaling, variability of turning behavior and survival in adult fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1189301. [PMID: 37304760 PMCID: PMC10248140 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1189301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of high-throughput behavioral assays, where numerous individual animals can be analyzed in various experimental conditions, has facilitated the study of animal personality. Previous research showed that isogenic Drosophila melanogaster flies exhibit striking individual non-heritable locomotor handedness. The variability of this trait, i.e., the predictability of left-right turn biases, varies across genotypes and under the influence of neural activity in specific circuits. This suggests that the brain can dynamically regulate the extent of animal personality. It has been recently shown that predators can induce changes in prey phenotypes via lethal or non-lethal effects affecting the serotonergic signaling system. In this study, we tested whether fruit flies grown with predators exhibit higher variability/lower predictability in their turning behavior and higher survival than those grown with no predators in their environment. We confirmed these predictions and found that both effects were blocked when flies were fed an inhibitor (αMW) of serotonin synthesis. The results of this study demonstrate a negative association between the unpredictability of turning behavior of fruit flies and the hunting success of their predators. We also show that the neurotransmitter serotonin controls predator-induced changes in the turning variability of fruit flies, regulating the dynamic control of behavioral predictability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatjana Krama
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
- Chair of Plant Health, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Māris Munkevics
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
| | - Ronalds Krams
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
- Chair of Plant Health, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tatjana Grigorjeva
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
| | - Giedrius Trakimas
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
- Institute of Biosciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Priit Jõers
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Sergejs Popovs
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
| | - Krists Zants
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
| | - Didzis Elferts
- Department of Botany and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
| | - Markus J. Rantala
- Department of Biology, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Eriks Sledevskis
- Department of Technology, Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia
| | - Jorge Contreras-Garduño
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Benjamin L. de Bivort
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Indrikis A. Krams
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
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10
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Prugh LR, Cunningham CX, Windell RM, Kertson BN, Ganz TR, Walker SL, Wirsing AJ. Fear of large carnivores amplifies human-caused mortality for mesopredators. Science 2023; 380:754-758. [PMID: 37200434 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf2472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The challenge that large carnivores face in coexisting with humans calls into question their ability to carry out critical ecosystem functions such as mesopredator suppression outside protected areas. In this study, we examined the movements and fates of mesopredators and large carnivores across rural landscapes characterized by substantial human influences. Mesopredators shifted their movements toward areas with twofold-greater human influence in regions occupied by large carnivores, indicating that they perceived humans to be less of a threat. However, rather than shielding mesopredators, human-caused mortality was more than three times higher than large carnivore-caused mortality. Mesopredator suppression by apex predators may thus be amplified, rather than dampened, outside protected areas, because fear of large carnivores drives mesopredators into areas of even greater risk from human super predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Calum X Cunningham
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Rebecca M Windell
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Brian N Kertson
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Snoqualmie, WA 98065, USA
| | - Taylor R Ganz
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Savanah L Walker
- Spokane Tribe of Indians, Department of Natural Resources, Wellpinit, WA 99040, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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11
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Potash AD, Conner LM, Clinchy M, Zanette LY, McCleery RA. Prey species increase activity in refugia free of terrestrial predators. Oecologia 2023; 201:661-671. [PMID: 36897410 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05350-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
The decline of terrestrial predator populations across the globe is altering top-down pressures that drive predator-prey interactions. However, a knowledge gap remains in understanding how removing terrestrial predators affects prey behavior. Using a bifactorial playback experiment, we exposed fox squirrels to predator (red-tailed hawks, coyotes, dogs) and non-predator control (Carolina wren) calls inside terrestrial predator exclosures, accessible to avian predators, and in control areas subject to ambient predation risk. Fox squirrels increased their use of terrestrial predator exclosures, a pattern that corresponded with 3 years of camera trapping. Our findings suggest fox squirrels recognized that exclosures had predictably lower predation risk. However, exclosures had no effect on their immediate behavioral response towards any call, and fox squirrels responded most severely to hawk predator calls. This study shows that anthropogenically driven predator loss creates predictably safer areas (refugia) that prey respond to proactively with increased use. However, the persistence of a lethal avian predator is sufficient to retain a reactive antipredator response towards an immediate predation threat. Some prey may benefit from shifting predator-prey interactions by gaining refugia without sacrificing a sufficient response towards potential predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D Potash
- Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, P.O. Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA.
| | - L Mike Conner
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, USA
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Robert A McCleery
- Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, P.O. Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
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12
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Lee ZA, Cohen CB, Baranowski AK, Berry KN, McGuire MR, Pelletier TS, Peck BP, Blundell JJ, Preisser EL. Auditory predator cues decrease herbivore survival and plant damage. Ecology 2023; 104:e4007. [PMID: 36807135 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
The high fitness cost of predation selects prey capable of detecting risk cues and responding in ways that reduce their vulnerability. While the impacts of auditory predator cues have been extensively researched in vertebrate prey, much less is known about invertebrate species' responses and their potential to affect the wider food web. We exposed larvae of Spodoptera exigua, a slow-moving and vulnerable herbivore hunted by aerial predators, to recordings of wasp buzzing (risk cue), mosquito buzzing (no-risk cue), or a no-sound control in both laboratory and field settings. In the laboratory, wasp buzzing (but not mosquito buzzing) reduced survival relative to the control; there was, however, no effect on time to or weight at pupation in survivors. In the field, wasp buzzing reduced caterpillar herbivory and increased plant biomass relative to the control treatment. In contrast, mosquito buzzing reduced herbivory less than wasp buzzing and had no effect on plant biomass. The fact that wasp cues evoked strong responses in both experiments, while mosquito buzzing generally did not, indicates that caterpillars were responding to predation risk rather than sound per se. Such auditory cues may have an important but largely unappreciated impacts on terrestrial invertebrate herbivores and their host plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Caroline B Cohen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Alex K Baranowski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kristen N Berry
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Maxwell R McGuire
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Tyler S Pelletier
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA.,Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brendan P Peck
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Jacqueline J Blundell
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Evan L Preisser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
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13
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Lusseau D, Kindt-Larsen L, van Beest FM. Emergent interactions in the management of multiple threats to the conservation of harbour porpoises. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 855:158936. [PMID: 36152860 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Human activities at sea are intensifying and diversifying. This is leading to more complex interactions of anthropogenic impacts requiring adaptable management interventions to mitigate their cumulative effects on biodiversity conservation and restoration objectives. Bycatch remains the dominant conservation threat for coastal cetaceans. Additionally, the indirect impact of repeated exposure to disturbances, particularly acoustic disturbances, can affect cetacean population growth and therefore conservation objectives. Pingers are used to ensonify nets to provide an effective mitigation of bycatch risk. As those become more prevalent across fisheries at risk to catch for example harbour porpoises, pingers become contributors to the anthropogenic noise landscape which may affect the vital rates of this species as well. Currently, we do not know how to best balance pinger prevalence to minimise both bycatch rate and the population consequences of acoustic disturbance (PCoD). Here we use an agent-based model to determine how pinger prevalence in nets can be adjusted to minimise bycatch rate and noise disturbance propagating to affect population growth for harbour porpoises. We show that counter-intuitively bycatch rate can increase at lower pinger prevalence. When ecological conditions are such that PCOD can emerge, higher prevalence of pingers can lead to indirect effects on population growth. This would result from condition-mediated decreased reproductive potential. Displacing fishing effort, via time-area closure, can be an effective mitigation strategy in these circumstances. These findings have important implications for current management plans which, for practical consideration, may lead to lower overall pinger prevalence at sea. This study also shows that estimating the reproductive potential of the species should be incorporated in bycatch monitoring programmes. We now need to better understand how physiological condition affect reproductive decisions and behavioural responses to noise in cetaceans to better appraise and estimate the cumulative impacts of bycatch and its mitigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Lusseau
- National Institute for Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Lotte Kindt-Larsen
- National Institute for Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Floris M van Beest
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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14
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Morris DW. Sex‐dependent habitat selection modulates risk management by meadow voles. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas W. Morris
- Department of Biology Lakehead University Thunder Bay Ontario Canada
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15
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Abstract
This article reviews the nature of functional responses that have commonly been used to represent feeding relationships in the ecological literature. It compares these with the range of functional response forms that are likely to characterize species in natural communities. The latter set of responses involves many more variables. The article reviews the history of functional response models, and examines previous work that has allowed the functional response of a predator to a single type of prey to depend on additional variables beyond the abundance of that prey type. While a number of more complex functional responses have been discussed over the years, many variables affecting feeding rates are still typically omitted from models of food webs. The influences on functional responses from trophic levels above that of the predator or below that of the prey are particularly likely to be ignored, although models and data have suggested that they can have large effects on the functional response. The influences of adaptive behavior and of the time-scale of response measurement are also too often ignored. Some of the known and unknown consequences of these omissions are discussed.
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16
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