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Prokopenko CM, Ellington EH, Robitaille A, Aubin JA, Balluffi-Fry J, Laforge M, Webber QMR, Zabihi-Seissan S, Vander Wal E. Friends because of foes: synchronous movement within predator-prey domains. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230374. [PMID: 39230459 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
For prey, movement synchrony represents a potent antipredator strategy. Prey, however, must balance the costs and benefits of using conspecifics to mediate risk. Thus, the emergent patterns of risk-driven sociality depend on variation in space and in the predators and prey themselves. We applied the concept of predator-prey habitat domain, the space in which animals acquire food resources, to test the conditions under which individuals synchronize their movements relative to predator and prey habitat domains. We tested the response of movement synchrony of prey to predator-prey domains in two populations of ungulates that vary in their gregariousness and predator community: (i) elk, which are preyed on by wolves; and (ii) caribou, which are preyed on by coyotes and black bears. Prey in both communities responded to cursorial predators by increasing synchrony during seasons of greater predation pressure. Elk moved more synchronously in the wolf habitat domain during winter and caribou moved more synchronously in the coyote habitat domains during spring. In the winter, caribou increased movement synchrony when coyote and caribou domains overlapped. By integrating habitat domains with movement ecology, we provide a compelling argument for social behaviours and collective movement as an antipredator response. This article is part of the theme issue 'The spatial-social interface: A theoretical and empirical integration'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Prokopenko
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - E Hance Ellington
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
- Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3401 Experiment Station Rd , Ona, FL, USA
| | - Alec Robitaille
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Jaclyn A Aubin
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's , NL, Canada
| | - Juliana Balluffi-Fry
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Michel Laforge
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Quinn M R Webber
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's , NL, Canada
| | - Sana Zabihi-Seissan
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave , St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's , NL, Canada
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2
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Kuntze CC, Peery MZ, Pauli JN. Asymmetrical predation intensity produces divergent antipredator behaviours in primary and secondary prey. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 39205404 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14166] [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: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
It is widely recognized that predators can influence prey through both direct consumption and by inducing costly antipredator behaviours, the latter of which can produce nonconsumptive effects that cascade through trophic systems. Yet, determining how particular prey manage risk in natural settings remains challenging as empirical studies disproportionately focus on single predator-prey dyads. Here, we contrast foraging strategies within the context of a primary and secondary prey to explore how antipredator behaviours emerge as a product of predation intensity as well as the setting in which an encounter takes place. We studied the effects of spotted owls (Strix occidentalis) on two species experiencing asymmetrical risk: dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes; primary prey) and deer mice (Peromyscus spp.; alternative prey). Woodrats are most abundant within young forests, but predominantly captured by owls foraging within mature forests; in contrast, deer mice occur in high densities across forest types and seral stages and are consumed at lower per-capita rates overall. We deployed experimental foraging patches within areas of high and low spotted owl activity, created artificial risky and safe refuge treatments, and monitored behaviour throughout the entirety of prey foraging bouts. Woodrats were more vigilant and foraged less within mature forests and at riskier patches, although the effect of refuge treatment was contingent upon forest type. In contrast, deer mice only demonstrated consistent behavioural responses to riskier refuge treatments; forest type had little effect on perceived risk or the relative importance of refuge treatment. Thus, habitat can interact with predator activity to structure antipredator responses differently for primary versus secondary prey. Our findings show that asymmetrical predation can modulate both the magnitude of perceived risk and the strategies used to manage it, thus highlighting an important and understudied contingency in risk effects research. Evaluating the direct and indirect effects of predation through the paradigm of primary and secondary prey may improve our understanding of how nonconsumptive effects can extend to population- and community-level responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corbin C Kuntze
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - M Zachariah Peery
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jonathan N Pauli
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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3
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Dedman S, Moxley JH, Papastamatiou YP, Braccini M, Caselle JE, Chapman DD, Cinner JE, Dillon EM, Dulvy NK, Dunn RE, Espinoza M, Harborne AR, Harvey ES, Heupel MR, Huveneers C, Graham NAJ, Ketchum JT, Klinard NV, Kock AA, Lowe CG, MacNeil MA, Madin EMP, McCauley DJ, Meekan MG, Meier AC, Simpfendorfer CA, Tinker MT, Winton M, Wirsing AJ, Heithaus MR. Ecological roles and importance of sharks in the Anthropocene Ocean. Science 2024; 385:adl2362. [PMID: 39088608 DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/03/2024]
Abstract
In ecosystems, sharks can be predators, competitors, facilitators, nutrient transporters, and food. However, overfishing and other threats have greatly reduced shark populations, altering their roles and effects on ecosystems. We review these changes and implications for ecosystem function and management. Macropredatory sharks are often disproportionately affected by humans but can influence prey and coastal ecosystems, including facilitating carbon sequestration. Like terrestrial predators, sharks may be crucial to ecosystem functioning under climate change. However, large ecosystem effects of sharks are not ubiquitous. Increasing human uses of oceans are changing shark roles, necessitating management consideration. Rebuilding key populations and incorporating shark ecological roles, including less obvious ones, into management efforts are critical for retaining sharks' functional value. Coupled social-ecological frameworks can facilitate these efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Dedman
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Jerry H Moxley
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Yannis P Papastamatiou
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Matias Braccini
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, North Beach, WA 6920, Australia
| | - Jennifer E Caselle
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Demian D Chapman
- Sharks and Rays Conservation Research Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA
| | - Joshua Eli Cinner
- Thriving Oceans Research Hub, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Erin M Dillon
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Nicholas K Dulvy
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Ruth Elizabeth Dunn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4BA, UK
| | - Mario Espinoza
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José 2060-11501, Costa Rica
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José 2060-11501, Costa Rica
- MigraMar, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
| | - Alastair R Harborne
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Euan S Harvey
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, WA, Australia
| | - Michelle R Heupel
- Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- Integrated Marine Observing System, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Charlie Huveneers
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | | | - James T Ketchum
- MigraMar, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
- Pelagios Kakunjá, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
| | - Natalie V Klinard
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Alison A Kock
- Cape Research Centre, South African National Parks, Cape Town, South Africa
- South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa
| | - Christopher G Lowe
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA
| | - M Aaron MacNeil
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Elizabeth M P Madin
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Douglas J McCauley
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Amelia C Meier
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Colin A Simpfendorfer
- Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, 1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - M Tim Tinker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
- US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Megan Winton
- Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, North Chatham, MA 02650, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Michael R Heithaus
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
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4
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LaBarge LR, Krofel M, Allen ML, Hill RA, Welch AJ, Allan ATL. Keystone individuals - linking predator traits to community ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 2024:S0169-5347(24)00166-6. [PMID: 39068138 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.07.001] [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: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Individual behavioral plasticity enables animals to adjust to different scenarios. Yet, personality traits limit this flexibility, leading to consistent interindividual differences in behavior. These individual behavioral traits have the potential to govern community interactions, although testing this is difficult in complex natural systems. For large predators who often exert strong effects on ecosystem functioning, this behavioral diversity may be especially important and lead to individualized ecosystem roles. We present a framework for quantifying individual behavioral plasticity and personality traits of large wild predators, revealing the extent to which certain natural behaviors are governed by these latent traits. The outcomes will reveal how the innate characteristics of wildlife can scale up to affect community interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura R LaBarge
- Comparative Socioecology Group, Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Miha Krofel
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maximilian L Allen
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Russell A Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK; Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa
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5
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Zhang C, De Meester L, Stoks R. Rapid evolution of consumptive and non-consumptive predator effects on prey population densities, bioenergetics and stoichiometry. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:906-917. [PMID: 38807348 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14110] [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: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Predators can strongly influence prey populations not only through consumptive effects (CE) but also through non-consumptive effects (NCE) imposed by predation risk. Yet, the impact of NCE on bioenergetic and stoichiometric body contents of prey, traits that are shaping life histories, population and food web dynamics, is largely unknown. Moreover, the degree to which NCE can evolve and can drive evolution in prey populations is rarely studied. A 6-week outdoor mesocosm experiment with Caged-Fish (NCE) and Free-Ranging-Fish (CE and NCE) treatments was conducted to quantify and compare the effects of CE and NCE on population densities, bioenergetic and stoichiometric body contents of Daphnia magna, a keystone species in freshwater ecosystems. We tested for evolution of CE and NCE by using experimental populations consisting of D. magna clones from two periods of a resurrected natural pond population: a pre-fish period without fish and a high-fish period with high predation pressure. Both Caged-Fish and Free-Ranging-Fish treatments decreased the body size and population densities, especially in Daphnia from the high-fish period. Only the Free-Ranging-Fish treatment affected bioenergetic variables, while both the Caged-Fish and Free-Ranging-Fish treatments shaped body stoichiometry. The effects of CE and NCE were different between both periods indicating their rapid evolution in the natural resurrected population. Both the Caged-Fish and Free-Ranging-Fish treatments changed the clonal frequencies of the experimental Daphnia populations of the pre-fish as well as the high-fish period, indicating that not only CE but also NCE induced clonal sorting, hence rapid evolution during the mesocosm experiment in both periods. Our results demonstrate that CE as well as NCE have the potential to change not only the body size and population density but also the bioenergetic and stoichiometric characteristics of prey populations. Moreover, we show that these responses not only evolved in the studied resurrected population, but that CE and NCE also caused differential rapid evolution in a time frame of 6 weeks (ca. four to six generations). As NCE can evolve as well as can drive evolution, they may play an important role in shaping eco-evolutionary dynamics in predator-prey interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhang
- Environmental Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
- Evolutionary Stress Ecology and Ecotoxicology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Luc De Meester
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robby Stoks
- Evolutionary Stress Ecology and Ecotoxicology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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6
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Ganz TR, Bassing SB, DeVivo MT, Gardner B, Kertson BN, Satterfield LC, Shipley LA, Turnock BY, Walker SL, Abrahamson D, Wirsing AJ, Prugh LR. White-tailed deer population dynamics in a multipredator landscape shaped by humans. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e3003. [PMID: 38890813 DOI: 10.1002/eap.3003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Large terrestrial mammals increasingly rely on human-modified landscapes as anthropogenic footprints expand. Land management activities such as timber harvest, agriculture, and roads can influence prey population dynamics by altering forage resources and predation risk via changes in habitat, but these effects are not well understood in regions with diverse and changing predator guilds. In northeastern Washington state, USA, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are vulnerable to multiple carnivores, including recently returned gray wolves (Canis lupus), within a highly human-modified landscape. To understand the factors governing predator-prey dynamics in a human context, we radio-collared 280 white-tailed deer, 33 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 50 cougars (Puma concolor), 28 coyotes (C. latrans), and 14 wolves between 2016 and 2021. We first estimated deer vital rates and used a stage-structured matrix model to estimate their population growth rate. During the study, we observed a stable to declining deer population (lambda = 0.97, 95% confidence interval: 0.88, 1.05), with 74% of Monte Carlo simulations indicating population decrease and 26% of simulations indicating population increase. We then fit Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate how predator exposure, use of human-modified landscapes, and winter severity influenced deer survival and used these relationships to evaluate impacts on overall population growth. We found that the population growth rate was dually influenced by a negative direct effect of apex predators and a positive effect of timber harvest and agricultural areas. Cougars had a stronger effect on deer population dynamics than wolves, and mesopredators had little influence on the deer population growth rate. Areas of recent timber harvest had 55% more forage biomass than older forests, but horizontal visibility did not differ, suggesting that timber harvest did not influence predation risk. Although proximity to roads did not affect the overall population growth rate, vehicle collisions caused a substantial proportion of deer mortalities, and reducing these collisions could be a win-win for deer and humans. The influence of apex predators and forage indicates a dual limitation by top-down and bottom-up factors in this highly human-modified system, suggesting that a reduction in apex predators would intensify density-dependent regulation of the deer population owing to limited forage availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor R Ganz
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Sarah B Bassing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Melia T DeVivo
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
| | - Beth Gardner
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Brian N Kertson
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
| | - Lauren C Satterfield
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lisa A Shipley
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | | | | | | | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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7
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Orrick K, Sommer N, Rowland F, Ferraro K. Predator-prey interactions across hunting mode, spatial domain size, and habitat complexities. Ecology 2024; 105:e4316. [PMID: 38693704 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4316] [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: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Predator-prey interactions are a fundamental part of community ecology, yet the relative importance of consumptive and nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) (defined as a risk-induced response that alters prey fitness) has not been resolved. Theory suggests that the emergence and subsequent predominance of consumptive or NCEs depend on the given habitat's complexity as well as predator hunting mode and spatial domain sizes of both predator and prey, but their relative influence on the outcome of predator-prey interactions is unknown. We built agent-based models in NetLogo to simulate predator-prey interactions for three hunting modes-sit-and-wait, sit-and-pursue, and active-while concurrently simulating large versus small spatial domain sizes for both predators and prey. We studied (1) how hunting mode and spatial domain size interact to influence the emergence of consumptive or NCEs and (2) how, when NCEs do dominate, hunting mode and spatial domain separately or additively determine prey shifts in time, space, and habitat use. Our results indicate consumptive effects only dominate for active predators when prey habitat domains overlap completely with the predator's spatial domain and when sit-and-wait and sit-and-pursue predators and their prey both have large spatial domains. Prey are most likely to survive when they shift their time but most frequently shift their habitat. Our paper helps to better understand the underlying mechanisms that drive consumptive or NCEs to be most dominant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaggie Orrick
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Nathalie Sommer
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Freya Rowland
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Kristy Ferraro
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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8
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Gaynor KM, McInturff A, Abrahms BL, Smith AM, Brashares JS. Hunting mode and habitat selection mediate the success of human hunters. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2024; 12:29. [PMID: 38627867 PMCID: PMC11021010 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00471-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As a globally widespread apex predator, humans have unprecedented lethal and non-lethal effects on prey populations and ecosystems. Yet compared to non-human predators, little is known about the movement ecology of human hunters, including how hunting behavior interacts with the environment. METHODS We characterized the hunting modes, habitat selection, and harvest success of 483 rifle hunters in California using high-resolution GPS data. We used Hidden Markov Models to characterize fine-scale movement behavior, and k-means clustering to group hunters by hunting mode, on the basis of their time spent in each behavioral state. Finally, we used Resource Selection Functions to quantify patterns of habitat selection for successful and unsuccessful hunters of each hunting mode. RESULTS Hunters exhibited three distinct and successful hunting modes ("coursing", "stalking", and "sit-and-wait"), with coursings as the most successful strategy. Across hunting modes, there was variation in patterns of selection for roads, topography, and habitat cover, with differences in habitat use of successful and unsuccessful hunters across modes. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that hunters can successfully employ a diversity of harvest strategies, and that hunting success is mediated by the interacting effects of hunting mode and landscape features. Such results highlight the breadth of human hunting modes, even within a single hunting technique, and lend insight into the varied ways that humans exert predation pressure on wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- Departments of Zoology and Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Alex McInturff
- U.S. Geological Survey Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Briana L Abrahms
- Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alison M Smith
- Hopland Research and Extension Center, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hopland, CA, USA
| | - Justin S Brashares
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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9
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Ganz TR, DeVivo MT, Wirsing AJ, Bassing SB, Kertson BN, Walker SL, Prugh LR. Cougars, wolves, and humans drive a dynamic landscape of fear for elk. Ecology 2024; 105:e4255. [PMID: 38361248 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4255] [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: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
To manage predation risk, prey navigate a dynamic landscape of fear, or spatiotemporal variation in risk perception, reflecting predator distributions, traits, and activity cycles. Prey may seek to reduce risk across this landscape using habitat at times and in places when predators are less active. In multipredator landscapes, avoiding one predator could increase vulnerability to another, making the landscape of fear difficult to predict and navigate. Additionally, humans may shape interactions between predators and prey, and induce new sources of risk. Humans can function as a shield, providing a refuge for prey from human-averse carnivores, and as a predator, causing mortality through hunting and vehicle collisions and eliciting a fear response that can exceed that of carnivores. We used telemetry data collected between 2017 and 2021 from 63 Global Positioning System-collared elk (Cervus canadensis), 42 cougars (Puma concolor), and 16 wolves (Canis lupus) to examine how elk habitat selection changed in relation to carnivores and humans in northeastern Washington, USA. Using step selection functions, we evaluated elk habitat use in relation to cougars, wolves, and humans, diel period (daytime vs. nighttime), season (summer calving season vs. fall hunting season), and habitat structure (open vs. closed habitat). The diel cycle was critical to understanding elk movement, allowing elk to reduce encounters with predators where and when they would be the largest threat. Elk strongly avoided cougars at night but had a near-neutral response to cougars during the day, whereas elk avoided wolves at all times of day. Elk generally used more open habitats where cougars and wolves were most active, rather than altering the use of habitat structure depending on the predator species. Elk avoided humans during the day and ~80% of adult female mortality was human caused, suggesting that humans functioned as a "super predator" in this system. Simultaneously, elk leveraged the human shield against wolves but not cougars at night, and no elk were confirmed to have been killed by wolves. Our results add to the mounting evidence that humans profoundly affect predator-prey interactions, highlighting the importance of studying these dynamics in anthropogenic areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor R Ganz
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Melia T DeVivo
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Sarah B Bassing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Brian N Kertson
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
| | | | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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10
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Li F, Zhang T, Zhang Z, Lv T, Yu H, Yu D, Liu C. Predation risk-mediated indirect effects promote submerged plant growth: Implications for lake restoration. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 355:120512. [PMID: 38442660 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120512] [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: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Biological manipulation, involving fish stockings, is commonly used to counteract the deterioration of submerged vegetation in eutrophic lakes. Nevertheless, the non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of stocked carnivorous fish are often overlooked. Using a controlled experimental system, we investigated the NCEs of a native carnivorous fish, snakehead (Channa argus), on two key biological factors, herbivore-dominated grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and disturbance-dominated loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), influencing submerged plants growth. Additionally, we conducted a meta-analysis on predation risk and primary productivity. The results reveal that predation risk induces oxidative stress damage and affects grass carp growth. Non-significant changes in cortisol and glucose may be linked to predation risk prediction. Simultaneously, predation risk reduces fish feeding and disturbance behavior, relieving pressure on submerged plants to be grazed and disturbed, thereby supporting plant development. The presence of submerged plants, in turn, enhances loach activity and influences water body characteristics through negative feedback. Furthermore, the meta-analysis results indicate the facilitative effect of predation risk on primary producers. Our findings contribute to the understanding of biological manipulation theory. We demonstrate that the predation risk associated with introducing carnivorous fish can promote the growth of submerged plants through behaviorally mediated indirect effects. This highlights the potential utility of predation risk in lake restoration efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuchao Li
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Tiantian Zhang
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Zhiqiang Zhang
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Tian Lv
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Haihao Yu
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Dan Yu
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Chunhua Liu
- The National Field Station of Freshwater Ecosystem of Liangzi Lake, Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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11
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Russo D, Mäenurm A, Martinoli A, Cistrone L. Dangerous neighbours: Birds and bird-eating bats sharing tree cavities. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11098. [PMID: 38469052 PMCID: PMC10926052 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence indicates the non-consumptive effects of predators significantly impact prey physiology, ecology and behaviour. Passerine birds experience adverse effects on nesting and reproductive success when in proximity to predators. Fear of predators is context-dependent and influenced by hunting habitats and foraging strategies. While some bat species prey on birds, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) stands out by specialising in avian prey, especially during peak bird migration. N. lasiopterus is thought to seize avian prey in flight, but direct evidence is lacking. If birds were taken from nests, they would likely avoid nesting near these bats. However, no observations support this view. This study documents the successful reproduction of Eurasian blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) nesting alongside a colony of approximately 25 greater noctules. This bird species is a prey species for greater noctules in Italy. Over about 1 month (April-May 2023), we observed parent birds provisioning food to chicks, with at least two chicks alive and fed outside the tree cavity by the end of the period. While acknowledging the limitations of a single observation, we propose that this previously unknown behaviour indirectly supports the idea that greater noctules only capture avian prey in flight, not within confined spaces. This observation challenges the perception that these bats pose a threat when sharing roosting spaces in trees, as evidenced in our observed case. We hope this novel observation inspires future research on variations in bird nesting behaviour and reproductive success in the presence of bird-eating bats, as well as an assessment of the long-term impact on population dynamics and reproductive success of nesting birds sharing such roosting spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Russo
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di AgrariaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIPorticiNapoliItaly
| | - Anne Mäenurm
- AFNI Friuli‐Venezia GiuliaCordenonsPordenoneItaly
| | - Adriano Martinoli
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Guido Tosi Research Group, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche ed ApplicateUniversità degli Studi dell'InsubriaVareseItaly
| | - Luca Cistrone
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di AgrariaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIPorticiNapoliItaly
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12
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Subramanian A, Germain RM. Landscape use by large grazers in a grassland is restructured by wildfire. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297290. [PMID: 38349917 PMCID: PMC10863880 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals navigate landscapes based on perceived risks vs. rewards, as inferred from features of the landscape. In the wild, knowing how strongly animal movement is directed by landscape features is difficult to ascertain but widespread disturbances such as wildfires can serve as natural experiments. We tested the hypothesis that wildfires homogenize the risk/reward landscape, causing movement to become less directed, given that fires reduce landscape complexity as habitat structures (e.g., tree cover, dense brush) are burned. We used satellite imagery of a research reserve in Northern California to count and categorize paths made primarily by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in grasslands. Specifically, we compared pre-wildfire (August 2014) and post-wildfire (September 2018) image history layers among locations that were or were not impacted by wildfire (i.e., a Before/After Control/Impact design). Wildfire significantly altered spatial patterns of deer movement: more new paths were gained and more old paths were lost in areas of the reserve that were impacted by wildfire; movement patterns became less directed in response to fire, suggesting that the risk/reward landscape became more homogenous, as hypothesized. We found evidence to suggest that wildfire affects deer populations at spatial scales beyond their scale of direct impact and raises the interesting possibility that deer perceive risks and rewards at different spatial scales. In conclusion, our study provides an example of how animals integrate spatial information from the environment to make movement decisions, setting the stage for future work on the broader ecological implications for populations, communities, and ecosystems, an emerging interest in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aishwarya Subramanian
- Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Rachel M. Germain
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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13
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Clein RS, Warren MR, Neunuebel JP. Automated behavioral analysis reveals that mice employ a bait-and-switch escape mechanism to de-escalate social conflict. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.12.575321. [PMID: 38260649 PMCID: PMC10802557 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.12.575321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Intraspecies aggression has profound ecological and evolutionary consequences, as recipients can suffer injuries, decreases in fitness, and become outcasts from social groups. Although animals implement diverse strategies to avoid hostile confrontations, the extent to which social influences affect escape tactics is unclear. Here, we used computational and machine-learning approaches to analyze complex behavioral interactions as mixed-sex groups of mice, Mus musculus, freely interacted. Mice displayed a rich repertoire of behaviors marked by changes in behavioral state, aggressive encounters, and mixed-sex interactions. A prominent behavioral sequence consistently occurred after aggressive encounters, where males in submissive states quickly approached and transiently interacted with females immediately before the aggressor engaged with the same female. The behavioral sequences were also associated with substantially fewer physical altercations. Furthermore, the male's behavioral state and the interacting partners could be predicted by distinct features of the behavioral sequence, such as kinematics and the latency to and duration of male-female interactions. More broadly, our work revealed an ethologically relevant escape strategy influenced by the presence of females that may serve as a mechanism for de-escalating social conflict and preventing consequential reductions in fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel S. Clein
- University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Newark, DE 19713
| | - Megan R. Warren
- University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Newark, DE 19713
- Emory University, Department of Biology, Atlanta, GA 30322
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory National Primate Center, Atlanta, GA 30322
| | - Joshua P. Neunuebel
- University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Newark, DE 19713
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14
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Zamora-Camacho FJ. Keep the ball rolling: sexual differences in conglobation behavior of a terrestrial isopod under different degrees of perceived predation pressure. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16696. [PMID: 38144184 PMCID: PMC10740659 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Antipredator behaviors are theoretically subjected to a balance by which their display should be minimized when their benefits do not outweigh their costs. Such costs may be not only energetic, but also entail a reduction in the time available for other fitness-enhancing behaviors. However, these behaviors are only beneficial under predation risk. Therefore, antipredator behaviors are predicted to be maximized under strong predation risk. Moreover, predation pressure can differ among individuals according to traits such as sex or body size, if these traits increase vulnerability. Antipredator behaviors are expected to be maximized in individuals whose traits make them more conspicuous to predators. However, how sex, body size and antipredator behaviors interact is not always understood. Methods In this work, I tested the interaction between sex, body size and antipredator behavior in the common pill woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare), which conglobate (i.e., they roll up their bodies almost conforming a sphere that conceals their appendages) in response to predator attacks. Specifically, I tested whether latency to unroll after a standardized mechanical induction was greater in animals exposed to predator chemical cues (toad feces) than in conspecifics exposed to cues of non-predatory animals (rabbits) or no chemical cues whatsoever (distilled water), incorporating sex and body mass in the analyses. Results In agreement with my prediction, latency to unroll was greater in individuals exposed to predator chemical cues. In other words, these animals engage in conglobation for longer under perceived predator vicinity. However, this result was only true for males. This sexual dimorphism in antipredator behavior could result from males being under greater predation risk than females, thus having evolved more refined antipredator strategies. Indeed, males of this species are known to actively search for females, which makes them more prone to superficial ground mobility, and likely to being detected by predators. Body size was unrelated to latency to unroll. As a whole, these results support the hypothesis that antipredator behavior is tuned to predator cues in a way consistent with a balance between costs and benefits, which might differ between the sexes.
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15
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Gable TD, Johnson-Bice SM, Homkes AT, Fieberg J, Bump JK. Wolves alter the trajectory of forests by shaping the central place foraging behaviour of an ecosystem engineer. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231377. [PMID: 37935367 PMCID: PMC10645084 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1377] [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: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Predators can directly and indirectly alter the foraging behaviour of prey through direct predation and the risk of predation, and in doing so, initiate indirect effects that influence myriad species and ecological processes. We describe how wolves indirectly alter the trajectory of forests by constraining the distance that beavers, a central place forager and prolific ecosystem engineer, forage from water. Specifically, we demonstrate that wolves wait in ambush and kill beavers on longer feeding trails than would be expected based on the spatio-temporal availability of beavers. This pattern is driven by temporal dynamics of beaver foraging: beavers make more foraging trips and spend more time on land per trip on longer feeding trails that extend farther from water. As a result, beavers are more vulnerable on longer feeding trails than shorter ones. Wolf predation appears to be a selective evolutionary pressure propelled by consumptive and non-consumptive mechanisms that constrain the distance from water beavers forage, which in turn limits the area of forest around wetlands, lakes and rivers beavers alter through foraging. Thus, wolves appear intricately linked to boreal forest dynamics by shaping beaver foraging behaviour, a form of natural disturbance that alters the successional and ecological states of forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas D. Gable
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2003 Upper Buford Circles, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Sean M. Johnson-Bice
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3T 2N2
| | - Austin T. Homkes
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2003 Upper Buford Circles, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - John Fieberg
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2003 Upper Buford Circles, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Joseph K. Bump
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2003 Upper Buford Circles, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
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16
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Batabyal A. Predator-prey systems as models for integrative research in biology: the value of a non-consumptive effects framework. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb245851. [PMID: 37772622 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Predator-prey interactions are a cornerstone of many ecological and evolutionary processes that influence various levels of biological organization, from individuals to ecosystems. Predators play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems through the consumption of prey species and non-consumptive effects. Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) can induce changes in prey behavior, including altered foraging strategies, habitat selection, life history and anti-predator responses. These defensive strategies have physiological consequences for prey, affecting their growth, reproduction and immune function to name a few. Numerous experimental studies have incorporated NCEs in investigating predator-prey dynamics in the past decade. Interestingly, predator-prey systems can also be used as experimental models to answer physiology, cognition and adaptability questions. In this Commentary, I highlight research that uses NCEs in predator-prey systems to provide novel insights into cognition, adaptation, epigenetic inheritance and aging. I discuss the evolution of instinct, anxiety and other cognitive disorders, the shaping of brain connectomes, stress-induced aging and the development of behavioral coping styles. I outline how studies can integrate the investigation of NCEs with advanced behavioral, genomic and neurological tools to provide novel insights into physiological and cognitive health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuradha Batabyal
- Department of Physical and Natural Sciences, FLAME University, Pune 412115, India
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17
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Spake R, Bowler DE, Callaghan CT, Blowes SA, Doncaster CP, Antão LH, Nakagawa S, McElreath R, Chase JM. Understanding 'it depends' in ecology: a guide to hypothesising, visualising and interpreting statistical interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:983-1002. [PMID: 36859791 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12939] [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: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Ecologists routinely use statistical models to detect and explain interactions among ecological drivers, with a goal to evaluate whether an effect of interest changes in sign or magnitude in different contexts. Two fundamental properties of interactions are often overlooked during the process of hypothesising, visualising and interpreting interactions between drivers: the measurement scale - whether a response is analysed on an additive or multiplicative scale, such as a ratio or logarithmic scale; and the symmetry - whether dependencies are considered in both directions. Overlooking these properties can lead to one or more of three inferential errors: misinterpretation of (i) the detection and magnitude (Type-D error), and (ii) the sign of effect modification (Type-S error); and (iii) misidentification of the underlying processes (Type-A error). We illustrate each of these errors with a broad range of ecological questions applied to empirical and simulated data sets. We demonstrate how meta-analysis, a widely used approach that seeks explicitly to characterise context dependence, is especially prone to all three errors. Based on these insights, we propose guidelines to improve hypothesis generation, testing, visualisation and interpretation of interactions in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Spake
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, RG6 6EX, Reading, UK
| | - Diana E Bowler
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, OX10 8BB, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Corey T Callaghan
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle - Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, 33314-7719, FL, USA
| | - Shane A Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - C Patrick Doncaster
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK
| | - Laura H Antão
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- UNSW Data Science Hub, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, 2052, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard McElreath
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany
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18
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Lopez LK, Gil MA, Crowley PH, Trimmer PC, Munson A, Ligocki IY, Michelangeli M, Sih A. Integrating animal behaviour into research on multiple environmental stressors: a conceptual framework. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1345-1364. [PMID: 37004993 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12956] [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: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
While a large body of research has focused on the physiological effects of multiple environmental stressors, how behavioural and life-history plasticity mediate multiple-stressor effects remains underexplored. Behavioural plasticity can not only drive organism-level responses to stressors directly but can also mediate physiological responses. Here, we provide a conceptual framework incorporating four fundamental trade-offs that explicitly link animal behaviour to life-history-based pathways for energy allocation, shaping the impact of multiple stressors on fitness. We first address how small-scale behavioural changes can either mediate or drive conflicts between the effects of multiple stressors and alternative physiological responses. We then discuss how animal behaviour gives rise to three additional understudied and interrelated trade-offs: balancing the benefits and risks of obtaining the energy needed to cope with stressors, allocation of energy between life-history traits and stressor responses, and larger-scale escape from stressors in space or time via large-scale movement or dormancy. Finally, we outline how these trade-offs interactively affect fitness and qualitative ecological outcomes resulting from multiple stressors. Our framework suggests that explicitly considering animal behaviour should enrich our mechanistic understanding of stressor effects, help explain extensive context dependence observed in these effects, and highlight promising avenues for future empirical and theoretical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Lopez
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Kids Research, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Corner Hawkesbury Road & Hainsworth Street, Westmead, New South Wales, 2145, Australia
| | - Michael A Gil
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Ramaley N122/Campus Box 334, Boulder, CO, 80309-0334, USA
| | - Philip H Crowley
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 195 Huguelet Drive, 101 Thomas Hunt Morgan Building, Lexington, KY, 40506-0225, USA
| | - Pete C Trimmer
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Amelia Munson
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Isaac Y Ligocki
- Department of Biology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Roddy Science Hall, PO Box 1002, Millersville, PA, 17551, USA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Marcus Michelangeli
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, Umeå, SE-907 36, Sweden
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, 2132 Wickson Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Michel A, Johnson JR, Szeligowski R, Ritchie EG, Sih A. Integrating sensory ecology and predator-prey theory to understand animal responses to fire. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1050-1070. [PMID: 37349260 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14231] [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: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Fire regimes are changing dramatically worldwide due to climate change, habitat conversion, and the suppression of Indigenous landscape management. Although there has been extensive work on plant responses to fire, including their adaptations to withstand fire and long-term effects of fire on plant communities, less is known about animal responses to fire. Ecologists lack a conceptual framework for understanding behavioural responses to fire, which can hinder wildlife conservation and management. Here, we integrate cue-response sensory ecology and predator-prey theory to predict and explain variation in if, when and how animals react to approaching fire. Inspired by the literature on prey responses to predation risk, this framework considers both fire-naïve and fire-adapted animals and follows three key steps: vigilance, cue detection and response. We draw from theory on vigilance tradeoffs, signal detection, speed-accuracy tradeoffs, fear generalization, neophobia and adaptive dispersal. We discuss how evolutionary history with fire, but also other selective pressures, such as predation risk, should influence animal behavioural responses to fire. We conclude by providing guidance for empiricists and outlining potential conservation applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Michel
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Jacob R Johnson
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Richard Szeligowski
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Euan G Ritchie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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20
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Picciotti U, Valverde-Urrea M, Garganese F, Lopez-Moya F, Foubelo F, Porcelli F, Lopez-Llorca LV. Brindley's Glands Volatilome of the Predator Zelus renardii Interacting with Xylella Vectors. INSECTS 2023; 14:520. [PMID: 37367336 DOI: 10.3390/insects14060520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Alien species must adapt to new biogeographical regions to acclimatise and survive. We consider a species to have become invasive if it establishes negative interactions after acclimatisation. Xylella fastidiosa Wells, Raju et al., 1986 (XF) represents Italy's and Europe's most recent biological invasion. In Apulia (southern Italy), the XF-encountered Philaenus spumarius L. 1758 (Spittlebugs, Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) can acquire and transmit the bacterium to Olea europaea L., 1753. The management of XF invasion involves various transmission control means, including inundative biological control using Zelus renardii (ZR) Kolenati, 1856 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). ZR is an alien stenophagous predator of Xylella vectors, recently entered from the Nearctic and acclimated in Europe. Zelus spp. can secrete semiochemicals during interactions with conspecifics and prey, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that elicit conspecific defence behavioural responses. Our study describes ZR Brindley's glands, present in males and females of ZR, which can produce semiochemicals, eliciting conspecific behavioural responses. We scrutinised ZR secretion alone or interacting with P. spumarius. The ZR volatilome includes 2-methyl-propanoic acid, 2-methyl-butanoic acid, and 3-methyl-1-butanol, which are consistent for Z. renardii alone. Olfactometric tests show that these three VOCs, individually tested, generate an avoidance (alarm) response in Z. renardii. 3-Methyl-1-butanol elicited the highest significant repellence, followed by 2-methyl-butanoic and 2-methyl-propanoic acids. The concentrations of the VOCs of ZR decrease during the interaction with P. spumarius. We discuss the potential effects of VOC secretions on the interaction of Z. renardii with P. spumarius.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Picciotti
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti (DiSSPA), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, Laboratory of Plant Pathology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Miguel Valverde-Urrea
- Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, Laboratory of Plant Pathology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Francesca Garganese
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti (DiSSPA), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Federico Lopez-Moya
- Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, Laboratory of Plant Pathology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Francisco Foubelo
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Organic Synthesis, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Francesco Porcelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti (DiSSPA), University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Luis Vicente Lopez-Llorca
- Department of Marine Science and Applied Biology, Laboratory of Plant Pathology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
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Lamichhane S, Lamichhane BR, Gurung A, Rayamajhi T, Dahal TP, Regmi PR, Pokheral CP, Pathak A, Panta G, Kandel RC, Oli MK. Non-exploitative human disturbance provides shelter for prey from predator. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10200. [PMID: 37332517 PMCID: PMC10269119 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10200] [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: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Human activities can influence behaviors of predators and prey, as well as predator-prey interactions. Using camera trap data, we investigated whether or to what extent human activities influenced behaviors of predators (tigers and leopards) and prey (sambar deer, spotted deer, wild boar, and barking deer), and predator-prey interactions in the Barandabhar Corridor Forest (BCF), Chitwan District, Nepal. A multispecies occupancy model revealed that the presence of humans altered the conditional occupancy of both prey and predator species. Specifically, the conditional occupancy probability of prey was substantially higher (ψ = 0.91, CI = 0.89-0.92) when humans were present than when humans were absent (ψ = 0.68, CI = 0.54-0.79). The diel activity pattern of most prey species overlapped strongly with humans, whereas predators were generally more active when humans were absent. Finally, the spatiotemporal overlap analysis revealed that human-prey interactions (i.e., the probability that both humans and prey species being present on the same grid at the same hourly period) was ~3 times higher (10.5%, CI = 10.4%-10.6%) compared to spatiotemporal overlap between humans and predators (3.1%, CI = 3.0%-3.2%). Our findings are consistent with the human shield hypothesis and suggest that ungulate prey species may reduce predation risk by using areas with high human activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saneer Lamichhane
- National Trust for Nature ConservationKathmanduNepal
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and ConservationSchool of Natural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | | | - Aasish Gurung
- National Trust for Nature ConservationKathmanduNepal
| | - Trishna Rayamajhi
- Department of Natural Resources and the EnvironmentCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - Ganesh Panta
- Ministry of Forests and EnvironmentKathmanduNepal
| | | | - Madan K. Oli
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and ConservationUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
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22
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Fear generalization and behavioral responses to multiple dangers. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:369-380. [PMID: 36428124 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Animals often exhibit consistent-individual differences (CIDs) in boldness/fearfulness, typically studied in the context of predation risk. We focus here on fear generalization, where fear of one danger (e.g., predators) is correlated with fear of other dangers (e.g., humans, pathogens, moving vehicles, or fire). We discuss why fear generalization should be ecologically important, and why we expect fear to correlate across disparate dangers. CIDs in fear are well studied for some dangers in some taxa (e.g., human fear of pathogens), but not well studied for most dangers. Fear of some dangers has been found to correlate with general fearfulness, but some cases where we might expect correlated fears (e.g., between fear of humans, familiar predators, and exotic predators) are surprisingly understudied.
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23
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Gilbert NA, McGinn KA, Nunes LA, Shipley AA, Bernath-Plaisted J, Clare JDJ, Murphy PW, Keyser SR, Thompson KL, Maresh Nelson SB, Cohen JM, Widick IV, Bartel SL, Orrock JL, Zuckerberg B. Daily activity timing in the Anthropocene. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:324-336. [PMID: 36402653 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Animals are facing novel 'timescapes' in which the stimuli entraining their daily activity patterns no longer match historical conditions due to anthropogenic disturbance. However, the ecological effects (e.g., altered physiology, species interactions) of novel activity timing are virtually unknown. We reviewed 1328 studies and found relatively few focusing on anthropogenic effects on activity timing. We suggest three hypotheses to stimulate future research: (i) activity-timing mismatches determine ecological effects, (ii) duration and timing of timescape modification influence effects, and (iii) consequences of altered activity timing vary biogeographically due to broad-scale variation in factors compressing timescapes. The continued growth of sampling technologies promises to facilitate the study of the consequences of altered activity timing, with emerging applications for biodiversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil A Gilbert
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Kate A McGinn
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Laura A Nunes
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Amy A Shipley
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Jacy Bernath-Plaisted
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - John D J Clare
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Penelope W Murphy
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Spencer R Keyser
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Kimberly L Thompson
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), 04103 Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| | - Scott B Maresh Nelson
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jeremy M Cohen
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Ivy V Widick
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Savannah L Bartel
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - John L Orrock
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Benjamin Zuckerberg
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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24
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Clare JDJ, Zuckerberg B, Liu N, Stenglein JL, Van Deelen TR, Pauli JN, Townsend PA. A phenology of fear: Investigating scale and seasonality in predator-prey games between wolves and white-tailed deer. Ecology 2023; 104:e4019. [PMID: 36882907 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Predators and prey engage in games where each player must counter the moves of the other, and these games include multiple phases operating at different spatiotemporal scales. Recent work has highlighted potential issues related to scale-sensitive inferences in predator-prey interactions, and there is growing appreciation that these may exhibit pronounced but predictable dynamics. Motivated by previous assertions about effects arising from foraging games between white-tailed deer and canid predators (coyotes and wolves), we used a large and year-round network of trail cameras to characterize deer and predator foraging games, with a particular focus on clarifying its temporal scale and seasonal variation. Linear features were strongly associated with predator detection rates, suggesting these play a central role in canid foraging tactics by expediting movement. Consistent with expectations for prey contending with highly mobile predators, deer responses were more sensitive to proximal risk metrics at finer spatiotemporal scales, suggesting that coarser but more commonly used scales of analysis may miss useful insights into prey risk-response. Time allocation appears to be a key tactic for deer risk management and was more strongly moderated by factors associated with forage or evasion heterogeneity (forest cover, snow and plant phenology) than factors associated with the likelihood of predator encounter (linear features). Trade-offs between food and safety appeared to vary as much seasonally as spatially, with snow and vegetation phenology giving rise to a "phenology of fear." Deer appear free to counter predators during milder times of year, but a combination of poor foraging state, reduced forage availability, greater movements costs, and reproductive state dampen responsiveness during winter. Pronounced intra-annual variation in predator-prey interactions may be common in seasonal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D J Clare
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Benjamin Zuckerberg
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Nanfeng Liu
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Jennifer L Stenglein
- Office of Applied Science, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 101 S. Webster Street, Box 7921, Madison, Wisconsin, 53707, USA
| | - Timothy R Van Deelen
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Jonathan N Pauli
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Philip A Townsend
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
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25
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Visscher DR, Walker PD, Flowers M, Kemna C, Pattison J, Kushnerick B. Human impact on deer use is greater than predators and competitors in a multiuse recreation area. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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26
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Fardell LL, Pavey CR, Dickman CR. Influences of roaming domestic cats on wildlife activity in patchy urban environments. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1123355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are recognised as a threat to wildlife globally. Yet management of pet cats in urbanised areas is not regularly mandated, and management of feral cats in urbanised areas is rarely implemented. Mounting evidence emphasises the value of urban environments as hot spots of wildlife activity, which as the human population continues to grow may become the best or only habitats available to some wildlife species. Wildlife in urban environments must navigate introduced stressors that can compound with natural stressors. Additional, often novel, predators such as free-roaming pet and feral cats that are prevalent in urban environments could have high nonconsumptive fear/stress impacts on urban wildlife that influence their activity and adversely affect their health and reproduction capabilities, possibly more so than direct predation effects do. Cat roaming activity, particularly that of pet cats, could be managed with the support of the community, though motivation needs to be ensured. Understanding if roaming cat activity influences urban wildlife activity via perceived fear/stress impacts will help to build community motivation for the need for domestic cat management in urbanised areas. Using infrared motion sensor cameras positioned in both yards and green space edge habitats, we observed whether the presence and times active of native and introduced small mammals, and native birds, were impacted by domestic cat activity within a 24-h period and by their activity in the prior-24-h period. We found evidence of cat roaming activity during the hours of most wildlife activity, and show that wildlife navigated “landscapes of fear” relative to cat activity, as wildlife observed across a 24-h period increased their activity in the absence of cats in the same 24-h period and in the previous 24-h period. We also tested if cat activity was relative to previous cat activity, or disturbances, and found that cats reduced activity in response to each, but were still consistently present. Our results provide justification for the need to increase management of domestic cats in urbanised areas and offer fear/stress impacts as a novel approach to engender community support of such management.
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27
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Sommer NR, Alshwairikh YA, Arietta AZA, Skelly DK, Buchkowski RW. Prey metabolic responses to predators depend on predator hunting mode and prey antipredator defenses. OIKOS 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie R. Sommer
- Yale School of the Environment, Greeley Memorial Laboratory New Haven CT USA
| | - Yara A. Alshwairikh
- Yale School of the Environment, Greeley Memorial Laboratory New Haven CT USA
| | - A. Z. Andis Arietta
- Yale School of the Environment, Greeley Memorial Laboratory New Haven CT USA
| | - David K. Skelly
- Yale School of the Environment, Greeley Memorial Laboratory New Haven CT USA
| | - Robert W. Buchkowski
- Yale School of the Environment, Greeley Memorial Laboratory New Haven CT USA
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of Western Ontario, Biological and Geological Sciences Building London ON Canada
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28
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Bar-Ziv M, Sofer A, Gorovoy A, Spiegel O. Beyond simple habituation: Anthropogenic habitats influence the escape behaviour of spur-winged lapwings in response to both human and non-human threats. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:417-429. [PMID: 36477653 PMCID: PMC10107496 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13858] [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: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Habitat development may affect wildlife behaviour, favouring individuals or behaviours that cope better with perceived threats (predators). Bolder behaviours in human-dominated habitats (HDH; e.g. urban and rural settlements) may represent habituation specifically to humans, or a general reduction in predator-avoidance response. However, such carry-over effects across threat types (i.e. beyond humans) and phases of the escape sequence have not been well studied to date. Here we investigated escape behaviours of a locally common wader species, the spur-winged lapwing Vanellus spinosus. We assayed their flight initiation distance (FID) and subsequent escape behaviours in agricultural areas and in HDH. We found that lapwings in HDH were bolder, and that the difference was manifested in several phases of the predator-avoidance sequence (shorter FIDs, shorter distances fled, and a higher probability of escape by running vs. flying). When re-approached (by an observer) after landing, lapwings in HDH were also more repetitive in their FID than those in other habitats. To determine whether this apparent bolder behaviour in HDH areas is merely a consequence of habituation to humans or represents a broader behavioural change, we introduced an additional threat type-a remotely-operated taxidermic jackal ('Jack-Truck'). Finding bolder responses in the HDH to the human threat alone (and not to the Jack-Truck) could have supported the habituation hypothesis. In contrast, however, we found a bolder response in the HDH to both threat types, as well as a correlation between their FIDs across different sites. These bolder behaviours suggest that HDH impose a broader behavioural change on lapwings, rather than just simple habituation. Overall, our findings demonstrate how FID trials can reveal strong behavioural carry-over effects of HDH following human and non-human threats, including effects on the subsequent phases of escaping the predator. Further, FID assays may reveal consistent behavioural types when assessed under field conditions, and offer a direct way to differentiate among the various poorly understood and non-mutually exclusive mechanisms that lead to behavioural differences among organisms in HDH. The mechanistic perspective is essential for understanding how rapid urbanization impacts wildlife behaviour, populations, and the range of behaviours within them, even in species apparently resilient to such environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Bar-Ziv
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Aran Sofer
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Adel Gorovoy
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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29
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Kachel S, Bayrakcısmith R, Kubanychbekov Z, Kulenbekov R, McCarthy T, Weckworth B, Wirsing A. Ungulate spatiotemporal responses to contrasting predation risk from wolves and snow leopards. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:142-157. [PMID: 36416593 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Spatial responses to risk from multiple predators can precipitate emergent consequences for prey (i.e. multiple-predator effects, MPEs) and mediate indirect interactions between predators. How prey navigate risk from multiple predators may therefore have important ramifications for understanding the propagation of predation-risk effects (PREs) through ecosystems. The interaction of predator and prey traits has emerged as a potentially key driver of antipredator behaviour but remains underexplored in large vertebrate systems, particularly where sympatric prey share multiple predators. We sought to better generalize our understanding of how predators influence their ecosystems by considering how multiple sources of contingency drive prey distribution in a multi-predator-multi-prey system. Specifically, we explored how two sympatric ungulates with different escape tactics-vertically agile, scrambling ibex Capra sibirica and sprinting argali Ovis ammon-responded to predation risk from shared predators with contrasting hunting modes-cursorial wolves Canis lupus and vertical-ambushing, stalking snow leopards Panthera uncia. Contrasting risk posed by the two predators presented prey with clear trade-offs. Ibex selected for greater exposure to chronic long-term risk from snow leopards, and argali for wolves, in a nearly symmetrical manner that was predictable based on the compatibility of their respective traits. Yet, acute short-term risk from the same predator upended these long-term strategies, increasing each ungulates' exposure to risk from the alternate predator in a manner consistent with a scenario in which conflicting antipredator behaviours precipitate risk-enhancing MPEs and mediate predator facilitation. By contrast, reactive responses to wolves led ibex to reduce their exposure to risk from both predators-a risk-reducing MPE. Evidence of a similar reactive risk-reducing effect for argali vis-à-vis snow leopards was lacking. Our results suggest that prey spatial responses and any resulting MPEs and prey-mediated interactions between predators are contingent on the interplay of hunting mode and escape tactics. Further investigation of interactions among various drivers of contingency in PREs will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and improved forecasting of the ecological effects of predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Kachel
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.,Panthera, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | - Rahim Kulenbekov
- Panthera, New York, New York, USA.,Ilbirs Foundation, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
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30
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Giacomini HC. Metabolic responses of predators to prey density. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.980812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The metabolic cost of foraging is the dark energy of ecological systems. It is much harder to observe and to measure than its beneficial counterpart, prey consumption, yet it is not inconsequential for the dynamics of prey and predator populations. Here I define the metabolic response as the change in energy expenditure of predators in response to changes in prey density. It is analogous and intrinsically linked to the functional response, which is the change in consumption rate with prey density, as they are both shaped by adjustments in foraging activity. These adjustments are adaptive, ubiquitous in nature, and are implicitly assumed by models of predator–prey dynamics that impose consumption saturation in functional responses. By ignoring the associated metabolic responses, these models violate the principle of energy conservation and likely underestimate the strength of predator–prey interactions. Using analytical and numerical approaches, I show that missing this component of interaction has broad consequences for dynamical stability and for the robustness of ecosystems to persistent environmental or anthropogenic stressors. Negative metabolic responses – those resulting from decreases in foraging activity when more prey is available, and arguably the most common – lead to lower local stability of food webs and a faster pace of change in population sizes, including higher excitability, higher frequency of oscillations, and quicker return times to equilibrium when stable. They can also buffer the effects of press perturbations, such as harvesting, on target populations and on their prey through top-down trophic cascades, but are expected to magnify bottom-up cascades, including the effects of nutrient enrichment or the effects of altering lower trophic levels that can be caused by environmental forcing and climate change. These results have implications for any resource management approach that relies on models of food web dynamics, which is the case of many applications of ecosystem-based fisheries management. Finally, besides having their own individual effects, metabolic responses have the potential to greatly alter, or even invert, functional response-stability relationships, and therefore can be critical to an integral understanding of predation and its influence on population dynamics and persistence.
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31
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Ferreira CM, Dammhahn M, Eccard JA. Forager-mediated cascading effects on food resource species diversity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9523. [PMID: 36415870 PMCID: PMC9674471 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9523] [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: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceived predation risk varies in space and time. Foraging in this landscape of fear alters forager-resource interactions via cascading nonconsumptive effects. Estimating these indirect effects is difficult in natural systems. Here, we applied a novel measure to quantify the diversity at giving-up density that allows to test how spatial variation in perceived predation risk modifies the diversity of multispecies resources at local and regional spatial levels. Furthermore, we evaluated whether the nonconsumptive effects on resource species diversity can be explained by the preferences of foragers for specific functional traits and by the forager species richness. We exposed rodents of a natural community to artificial food patches, each containing an initial multispecies resource community of eight species (10 items each) mixed in sand. We sampled 35 landscapes, each containing seven patches in a spatial array, to disentangle effects at local (patch) and landscape levels. We used vegetation height as a proxy for perceived predation risk. After a period of three nights, we counted how many and which resource species were left in each patch to measure giving-up density and resource diversity at the local level (alpha diversity) and the regional level (gamma diversity and beta diversity). Furthermore, we used wildlife cameras to identify foragers and assess their species richness. With increasing vegetation height, i.e., decreasing perceived predation risk, giving-up density, and local alpha and regional gamma diversity decreased, and patches became less similar within a landscape (beta diversity increased). Foragers consumed more of the bigger and most caloric resources. The higher the forager species richness, the lower the giving-up density, and alpha and gamma diversity. Overall, spatial variation of perceived predation risk of foragers had measurable cascading effects on local and regional resource species biodiversity, independent of the forager species. Thus, nonconsumptive predation effects modify forager-resource interactions and might act as an equalizing mechanism for species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Mendes Ferreira
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and BiologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Melanie Dammhahn
- Behavioural Biology, Institute for Neurobiology and Behavioural BiologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and BiologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
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32
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Coupling phenotypic changes to extinction and survival in an endemic prey community threatened by an invasive snake. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18249. [PMID: 36309562 PMCID: PMC9617863 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22583-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
When facing novel invasive predators, native prey can either go extinct or survive through exaptation or phenotypic shifts (either plastic or adaptive). Native prey can also reflect stress-mediated responses against invasive predators, affecting their body condition. Although multiple native prey are likely to present both types of responses against a single invader, community-level studies are infrequent. The invasive California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) a good example to explore invasive predators' effects on morphology and body condition at a community level, as this invader is known to locally extinct the Gran Canaria giant lizard (Gallotia stehlini) and to notably reduce the numbers of the Gran Canaria skink (Chalcides sexlineatus) and the Boettger's gecko (Tarentola boettgeri). By comparing a set of morphological traits and body condition (i.e. body index and ectoparasite load) between invaded and uninvaded areas for the three squamates, we found clear evidence of a link between a lack of phenotypic change and extinction, as G. stehlini was the single native prey that did not show morphological shifts. On the other side, surviving C. sexlineatus and T. boettgeri exhibited phenotypic differences in several morphological traits that could reflect plastic responses that contribute to their capacity to cope with the snake. Body condition responses varied among species, indicating the potential existence of simultaneous consumptive and non-consumptive effects at a community level. Our study further highlights the importance addressing the impact of invasive predators from a community perspective in order to gain a deeper understanding of their effect in native ecosystems.
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33
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Warming and predation risk only weakly shape size-mediated priority effects in a cannibalistic damselfly. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17324. [PMID: 36243749 PMCID: PMC9569353 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22110-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Differences in hatching dates can shape intraspecific interactions through size-mediated priority effects (SMPE), a phenomenon where bigger, early hatched individuals gain advantage over smaller, late hatched ones. However, it remains unclear to what extent and how SMPE are affected by key environmental factors such as warming and predation risk imposed by top predators. We studied effects of warming (low and high temperature) and predation risk (presence and absence of predator cues of perch) on SMPE in life history and physiological traits in the cannibalistic damselfly Ischnura elegans. We induced SMPE in the laboratory by manipulating hatching dates, creating following groups: early and late hatchlings reared in separate containers, and mixed phenology groups where early and late hatchlings shared the same containers. We found strong SMPE for survival and emergence success, with the highest values in early larvae of mixed phenology groups and the lowest values in late larvae of mixed phenology groups. Neither temperature nor predator cues affected SMPE for these two traits. The other life history traits (development rate and mass at emergence) did not show SMPE, but were affected by temperature and predator cues. A tendency for SMPE was found for protein content, in the high temperature treatment. The other physiological traits (phenoloxidase activity and fat content) showed fixed expressions across treatments, indicating decoupling between physiology and life history. The results underline that SMPEs are trait-dependent, and only weakly or not affected by temperature and predation risk.
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34
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Malhotra R, Lima S, Harris NC. Temporal refuges of a subordinate carnivore vary across rural-urban gradient. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9310. [PMID: 36188497 PMCID: PMC9492470 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals exhibit variation in their space and time use across an urban-rural gradient. As the top-down influences of apex predators wane due to human-driven declines, landscape-level anthropogenic pressures are rising. Human impacts can be analogous to apex predators in that humans can drive increased mortality in both prey species and carnivores, and impact communities through indirect fear effects and food subsidies. Here, we evaluate the time use of a common mesocarnivore across an urban-rural gradient and test whether it is influenced by the intensity of the use of a larger carnivore. Using multiple camera-trap surveys, we compared the temporal response of a small carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to the larger coyote (Canis latrans) in four study areas across Michigan that represented a gradient of pressure from humans. We found that raccoon time use varied by study area and was most unique at the rural extreme. Raccoons consistently did not shift their activity pattern in response to coyotes in the study area with the highest anthropogenic pressures despite the considerable interannual variation, and instead showed stronger responses to coyotes in more rural study areas. Temporal shifts were characterized by raccoons being more diurnal in areas of high coyote activity. We conclude that raccoons may shift time use in the presence of coyotes, dependent on the level of anthropogenic pressure. Our results highlight that the variation in raccoon time use across the entirety of the urban-rural gradient needed to be considered, as anthropogenic pressures may dominate and obscure the dynamics of this interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rumaan Malhotra
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Samantha Lima
- Forestry and Natural ResourcesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaUSA
| | - Nyeema C. Harris
- Applied Wildlife Ecology LabSchool of the Environment, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
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35
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Peacor SD, Dorn NJ, Smith JA, Peckham NE, Cherry MJ, Sheriff MJ, Kimbro DL. A skewed literature: Few studies evaluate the contribution of predation-risk effects to natural field patterns. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2048-2061. [PMID: 35925978 PMCID: PMC9545701 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A narrative in ecology is that prey modify traits to reduce predation risk, and the trait modification has costs large enough to cause ensuing demographic, trophic and ecosystem consequences, with implications for conservation, management and agriculture. But ecology has a long history of emphasising that quantifying the importance of an ecological process ultimately requires evidence linking a process to unmanipulated field patterns. We suspected that such process-linked-to-pattern (PLP) studies were poorly represented in the predation risk literature, which conflicts with the confidence often given to the importance of risk effects. We reviewed 29 years of the ecological literature which revealed that there are well over 4000 articles on risk effects. Of those, 349 studies examined risk effects on prey fitness measures or abundance (i.e., non-consumptive effects) of which only 26 were PLP studies, while 275 studies examined effects on other interacting species (i.e., trait-mediated indirect effects) of which only 35 were PLP studies. PLP studies were narrowly focused taxonomically and included only three that examined unmanipulated patterns of prey abundance. Before concluding a widespread and influential role of predation-risk effects, more attention must be given to linking the process of risk effects to unmanipulated patterns observed across diverse ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott D Peacor
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Nathan J Dorn
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Justine A Smith
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California - Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Nicole E Peckham
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael J Cherry
- Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas, USA
| | - Michael J Sheriff
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David L Kimbro
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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36
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Batabyal A, Chau D, Rivi V, Lukowiak K. Risk in one is not risk in all: snails show differential decision making under high- and low-risk environments. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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37
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Dynamic landscapes of fear: understanding spatiotemporal risk. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:911-925. [PMID: 35817684 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The landscape of fear (LOF) concept posits that prey navigate spatial heterogeneity in perceived predation risk, balancing risk mitigation against other activities necessary for survival and reproduction. These proactive behavioral responses to risk can affect individual fitness, population dynamics, species interactions, and coexistence. Yet, antipredator responses in free-ranging prey often contradict expectations, raising questions about the generality and scalability of the LOF framework and suggesting that a purely spatial, static LOF conceptualization may be inadequate. Here, we outline a 'dynamic' LOF framework that explicitly incorporates time to account for predictable spatiotemporal variation in risk-resource trade-offs. This integrated approach suggests novel predictions about predator effects on prey behaviors to refine understanding of the role predators play in ecological communities.
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38
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Fraser Franco M, Santostefano F, Kelly CD, Montiglio PO. Studying predator foraging mode and hunting success at the individual level with an online videogame. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Predator–prey interactions are important drivers of community and ecosystem dynamics. With an online multiplayer videogame, we propose a novel system to explore within population variation in predator hunting mode, and how predator–prey behavioral interactions affect predator hunting success. We empirically examined how four predator foraging behaviors covary at three hierarchical levels (among environments, among individuals, and within individuals) to assess the structure of predator hunting mode. We also investigated how prey activity affects the foraging behavior and hunting success of predators. Our study supports key findings on predator foraging mode and predator-prey interactions from behavioral ecology. We found that individual predators displayed a diversity of hunting tactics that were conditioned by prey behavior. With prey movement, individual predators specialized either as cursorial or ambush hunters along a continuum of their hunting traits, but also shifted their strategy between encounters. Both types of hunters were generally better against slower moving prey, and they achieved similar prey captures over the sampling period. This suggests that virtual worlds supporting multiplayer online videogames can serve as legitimate systems to advance our knowledge on predator–prey interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Fraser Franco
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Groupe de Recherche en Écologie et Évolution des Interactions Biologiques (GREEIB), Université du Québec à Montréal , Case postale 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8 , Canada
| | - Francesca Santostefano
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Groupe de Recherche en Écologie et Évolution des Interactions Biologiques (GREEIB), Université du Québec à Montréal , Case postale 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8 , Canada
| | - Clint D Kelly
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Groupe de Recherche en Écologie et Évolution des Interactions Biologiques (GREEIB), Université du Québec à Montréal , Case postale 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8 , Canada
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Groupe de Recherche en Écologie et Évolution des Interactions Biologiques (GREEIB), Université du Québec à Montréal , Case postale 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8 , Canada
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39
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Vigués J, Norén K, Wilkinson C, Stoessel M, Angerbjörn A, Dalerum F. Abundance, predation, and habitat associations of lemming winter nests in northern Sweden. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Vigués
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Karin Norén
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | - Caitlin Wilkinson
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring Swedish Museum of Natural History Stockholm Sweden
| | - Marianne Stoessel
- Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
| | | | - Fredrik Dalerum
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Biodiversity Research Institute (IMIB, UO‐CSIC‐PA), Spanish National Research Council, Research Building, Mieres Campus Mieres Spain
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
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40
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Branson DH. Grasshopper feeding preference affects cascading effects of predators on plant biomass in a mixed-grass prairie. FOOD WEBS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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41
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Kannan K, Galizia CG, Nouvian M. Olfactory Strategies in the Defensive Behaviour of Insects. INSECTS 2022; 13:470. [PMID: 35621804 PMCID: PMC9145661 DOI: 10.3390/insects13050470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Most animals must defend themselves in order to survive. Defensive behaviour includes detecting predators or intruders, avoiding them by staying low-key or escaping or deterring them away by means of aggressive behaviour, i.e., attacking them. Responses vary across insect species, ranging from individual responses to coordinated group attacks in group-living species. Among different modalities of sensory perception, insects predominantly use the sense of smell to detect predators, intruders, and other threats. Furthermore, social insects, such as honeybees and ants, communicate about danger by means of alarm pheromones. In this review, we focus on how olfaction is put to use by insects in defensive behaviour. We review the knowledge of how chemical signals such as the alarm pheromone are processed in the insect brain. We further discuss future studies for understanding defensive behaviour and the role of olfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kavitha Kannan
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - C. Giovanni Galizia
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Morgane Nouvian
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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42
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Dammhahn M, Lange P, Eccard JA. The landscape of fear has individual layers: an experimental test of among‐individual differences in perceived predation risk during foraging. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Dammhahn
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Pauline Lange
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
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43
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Rober AR, McCann KS, Turetsky MR, Wyatt KH. Cascading effects of predators on algal size structure. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2022; 58:308-317. [PMID: 35032342 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The presence of edible and inedible prey species in a food web can influence the strength that nutrients (bottom-up) or herbivores (top-down) have on primary production. In boreal peatlands, wetter more nutrient-rich conditions associated with ongoing climate change are expanding consumer access to aquatic habitat and promoting sources of primary production (i.e., algae) that are susceptible to trophic regulation. Here, we used an in situ mesocosm experiment to evaluate the consequences of enhanced nutrient availability and food-web manipulation (herbivore and predator exclusion) on algal assemblage structure in an Alaskan fen. Owing to the potential for herbivores to selectively consume edible algae (small cells) in favor of more resistant forms, we predicted that the proportion of less-edible algae (large cells) would determine the strength of top-down or bottom-up effects. Consistent with these expectations, we observed an increase in algal-cell size in the presence of herbivores (2-tiered food web) that was absent in the presence of a trophic cascade (3-tiered food web), suggesting that predators indirectly prevented morphological changes in the algal assemblage by limiting herbivory. Increases in algal-cell size with herbivory were driven by a greater proportion of filamentous green algae and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, whose size and morphological characteristics mechanically minimize consumption. While consumer-driven shifts in algal assemblage structure were significant, they did not prevent top-down regulation of biofilm development by herbivores. Our findings show that increasing wet periods in northern peatlands will provide new avenues for trophic regulation of algal production, including directly through consumption and indirectly via a trophic cascade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison R Rober
- Department of Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 47306, USA
| | - Kevin S McCann
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, NIG 2WI, Canada
| | - Merritt R Turetsky
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Kevin H Wyatt
- Department of Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 47306, USA
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44
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Suraci JP, Smith JA, Chamaillé‐Jammes S, Gaynor KM, Jones M, Luttbeg B, Ritchie EG, Sheriff MJ, Sih A. Beyond spatial overlap: harnessing new technologies to resolve the complexities of predator–prey interactions. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Justine A. Smith
- Dept of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, Univ. of California Davis CA USA
| | - Simon Chamaillé‐Jammes
- CEFE, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD Montpellier France
- Mammal Research Inst., Dept of Zoology&Entomology, Univ. of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - Kaitlyn M. Gaynor
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Univ. of California Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Menna Jones
- School of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Tasmania Tasmania Australia
| | - Barney Luttbeg
- Dept of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State Univ. Stillwater OK USA
| | - Euan G. Ritchie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin Univ. Burwood VIC Australia
| | | | - Andrew Sih
- Dept of Environmental Science and Policy, Univ. of California Davis CA USA
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45
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Parker EJ, Hill RA, Koyama NF. Behavioral responses to spatial variation in perceived predation risk and resource availability in an arboreal primate. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Edwin J. Parker
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Louis Trichardt South Africa
| | - Russell A. Hill
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Louis Trichardt South Africa
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Department of Zoology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
| | - Nicola F. Koyama
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
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46
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Ortiz-Jimenez CA, Michelangeli M, Pendleton E, Sih A, Smith JE. Behavioural correlations across multiple stages of the antipredator response: do animals that escape sooner hide longer? Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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47
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48
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Dellinger JA, Shores CR, Craig AD, Kachel SM, Heithaus MR, Ripple WJ, Wirsing AJ. Predators reduce niche overlap between sympatric prey. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin A. Dellinger
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
- Wildlife Investigations Lab, California Dept of Fish and Wildlife Rancho Cordova CA USA
| | - Carolyn R. Shores
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
- British Columbia Fish and Wildlife, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Williams Lake BC Canada
| | - Apryle D. Craig
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Shannon M. Kachel
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
- Panthera New York NY USA
| | - Michael R. Heithaus
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Florida International Univ. North Miami FL USA
- Institute of Environment, Florida International Univ. FL USA
| | - William J. Ripple
- Global Trophic Cascades Program, Dept of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State Univ. Corvallis OR USA
| | - Aaron J. Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
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49
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Wen J, Ueno T. Risk Odors Deriving from Predator Abdominal Gland Secretions Mediate Non-Consumptive Effects on Prey. J Chem Ecol 2021; 48:89-98. [PMID: 34779990 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01331-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Prey can detect the presence of predators by predator-released cues and then flexibly alter their phenotypical traits to mitigate the risk, thus non-consumptive effects emerge. Non-consumptive effects have been widely studied in many ecosystems, however, the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood, leaving questions as to the nature of the risk cues and how prey detect the predator. Here, we used a Y-tube olfactometer to examine whether small brown planthoppers, Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), could detect the presence of rove beetles (Paederus fuscipes Curtis) via odor from rove beetle abdominal gland secretion. We further identified the chemicals of abdominal gland secretion by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Chemicals identified were exposed to a planthopper to test their effects on planthopper behavior. Female or male planthoppers could distinguish the predation risk odors of rove beetle or rove beetle abdominal gland secretion from odor without predation risks. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, sixteen of the most abundant chemicals were found in female and male abdominal gland secretion. Five of them (n-undecane, n-pentadecane, n-hexadecane, n-eicosane, and n-heneicosane) individually or collectively reduced the activity level of planthoppers. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of abdominal gland secretion in mediating non-consumptive predator effects, with significant implications for pest management, and the evolution of chemical signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Wen
- Institute of Biological Control, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Takatoshi Ueno
- Institute of Biological Control, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
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50
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Crane AL, Demers EE, Feyten LEA, Ramnarine IW, Brown GE. Exploratory decisions of Trinidadian guppies when uncertain about predation risk. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:581-587. [PMID: 34741669 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01575-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animals can reduce their uncertainty of predation risk by gathering new information via exploration behaviour. However, a decision to explore may also be costly due to increased predator exposure. Here, we found contextual effects of predation risk on the exploratory activity of Trinidadian guppies Poecilia reticulata in a novel environment. First, guppies were exposed to a 3-day period of either high or low background predation risk in the form of repeated exposure to either injured conspecific cues (i.e. alarm cues) or control water, respectively. A day later, guppies were moved into a testing arena with limited visual information due to structural barriers and were then presented with an acute chemical stimulus, either alarm cues (a known and reliable indicator of risk), a novel odour (an ambiguous cue), or control water. In the presence of control water, guppies from high and low background risk showed a similar willingness to explore the arena. However, high-risk individuals significantly reduced their spatial evenness, although not their movement latency, in the presence of both the alarm and novel cues. When these high-risk individuals were a member of a shoal, they became willing to explore the environment more evenly in the presence of alarm cues while remaining cautious toward the novel cue, indicating an effect of the greater uncertainty associated with the novel cue. In contrast, low-risk guppies showed a willingness to explore the arena regardless of acute threat or social context. Such contextual effects of background risk and social context highlight the complexity of exploratory decisions when uncertain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Crane
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Ebony E Demers
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Indar W Ramnarine
- Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Grant E Brown
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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