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Aguiñaga J, Jin S, Pesati I, Laskowski KL. Behavioral responses of a clonal fish to perceived predation risk. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17547. [PMID: 38912041 PMCID: PMC11192026 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17547] [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: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Predation threat is a major driver of behavior in many prey species. Animals can recognize their relative risk of predation based on cues in the environment, including visual and/or chemical cues released by a predator or from its prey. When threat of predation is high, prey often respond by altering their behavior to reduce their probability of detection and/or capture. Here, we test how a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), behaviorally responds to predation cues. We measured aggressive and social behaviors both under 'risk', where chemical cues from predatory fish and injured conspecifics were present, and control contexts (no risk cues present). We predicted that mollies would exhibit reduced aggression towards a simulated intruder and increased sociability under risk contexts as aggression might increase their visibility to a predator and shoaling should decrease their chance of capture through the dilution effect. As predicted, we found that Amazon mollies spent more time with a conspecific when risk cues were present, however they did not reduce their aggression. This highlights the general result of the 'safety in numbers' behavioral response that many small shoaling species exhibit, including these clonal fish, which suggests that mollies may view this response as a more effective anti-predator response compared to limiting their detectability by reducing aggressive conspecific interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Aguiñaga
- Ecology and Evolution, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States of America
| | - Sophia Jin
- Ecology and Evolution, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States of America
| | - Ishita Pesati
- Ecology and Evolution, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States of America
| | - Kate L. Laskowski
- Ecology and Evolution, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States of America
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2
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Stockwell CA, Schmelzer MR, Gillis BE, Anderson CM, Wisenden BD. Ignorance is not bliss: evolutionary naiveté in an endangered desert fish and implications for conservation. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220752. [PMID: 35975438 PMCID: PMC9386569 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Predator naiveté has been invoked to explain the impacts of non-native predators on isolated populations that evolved with limited predation. Such impacts have been repeatedly observed for the endangered Pahrump poolfish, Empetrichthys latos, a desert fish species that evolved in isolation since the end of the Pleistocene. We tested Pahrump poolfish anti-predator responses to conspecific chemical alarm cues released from damaged epidermal tissue in terms of fish activity and water column position. Pahrump poolfish behavioural responses to conspecific alarm cues did not differ from responses to a dechlorinated tap water control. As a positive control, the well-studied fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, showed significant alarm cue responses in terms of reduced activity and lowered water column position. The density of epidermal club cells, the presumptive source of alarm cues, was significantly lower in Pahrump poolfish relative to fathead minnows. Therefore, anti-predator competence mediated by conspecific alarm cues does not seem to be a component of the ecology of Pahrump poolfish. These findings provide a proximate mechanism for the vulnerability of Pahrump poolfish to non-native predators, with implications for the conservation and management of insular species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig A Stockwell
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences Program, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | - Madison R Schmelzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences Program, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | - Bailey E Gillis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences Program, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | - Cody M Anderson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental and Conservation Sciences Program, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108, USA
| | - Brian D Wisenden
- Biosciences Department, Minnesota State University Moorhead, 1104 7th Avenue South, Moorhead, MN 56563, USA
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3
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Feyten LEA, Demers EEM, Ramnarine IW, Brown GE. Assessing effects of predator density and diversity on neophobia in Trinidadian guppies. Behav Processes 2022; 201:104717. [PMID: 35907447 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104717] [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: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Neophobic predator avoidance, where prey actively avoid novel stimuli, is thought to allow prey to cope with the inability to predict predation risk (i.e. uncertainty) while reducing the costs associated with learning. Recent studies suggest that neophobia is elicited as a response to unpredictable and elevated mean predation risk, and is linked to experience with diverse novel cues. However, no research has disentangled the effects of predator density and diversity on neophobia. We conditioned Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to high- or low-diversity predator model treatments paired with high, intermediate, or low concentrations of conspecific alarm cues as a proxy for predator density. We tested behavioural responses to a novel stimulus vs. a water control to determine differences in neophobia among treatments. We found that neophobic shoaling behaviour was shaped by mean risk (predator density). However both density and diversity shaped neophobic freezing, and to a weaker extent, neophobic area use. Our research suggests that predator diversity might elicit neophobic responses in guppies, but only when mean risk is high enough. The relationship between neophobia and components of predation risk is becoming increasingly relevant as ecological uncertainty becomes more prevalent with increasing climate change, anthropogenic impacts, and invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence E A Feyten
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada.
| | - Ebony E M Demers
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Indar W Ramnarine
- Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Grant E Brown
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada
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Kolonin AM, Bókony V, Bonner TH, Zúñiga-Vega JJ, Aspbury AS, Guzman A, Molina R, Calvillo P, Gabor CR. Coping with urban habitats via glucocorticoid regulation: physiology, behavior, and life history in stream fishes. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:90-103. [PMID: 35026022 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
As environments become urbanized, tolerant species become more prevalent. The physiological, behavioral and life-history mechanisms associated with the success of such species in urbanized habitats are not well understood, especially in freshwater ecosystems. Here we examined the glucocorticoid (GC) profiles, life-history traits, and behavior of two species of fish across a gradient of urbanization to understand coping capacity and associated trade-offs. We studied the tolerant live-bearing Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) for two years and the slightly less tolerant, egg-laying, Blacktail Shiner (Cyprinella venusta) for one year. We used a water-borne hormone method to examine baseline, stress-induced, and recovery cortisol release rates across six streams with differing degrees of urbanization. We also measured life-history traits related to reproduction, and for G. affinis, we measured shoaling behavior and individual activity in a novel arena. Both species showed a trend for reduced stress responsiveness in more urbanized streams, accompanied by higher reproductive output. Although not all populations fit this trend, these results suggest that GC suppression may be adaptive for coping with urban habitats. In G. affinis, GC recovery increased with urbanization, and individuals with the lowest stress response and highest recovery had the greatest reproductive allotment, suggesting that rapid return to baseline GC levels is also an important coping mechanism. In G. affinis, urban populations showed altered life-history trade-offs whereas behavioral traits did not vary systematically with urbanization. Thus, these tolerant species of fish may cope with anthropogenically modified streams by altering their GC profiles and life-history trade-offs. These results contribute to understanding the mechanisms driving species-specific adaptations and thereby community structure in freshwater systems associated with land-use converted areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arseniy M Kolonin
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - Veronika Bókony
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Herman Ottó út 15, 1022 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Timothy H Bonner
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - J Jaime Zúñiga-Vega
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuidad Universitaria 04510, Distrito Federal, Mexico
| | - Andrea S Aspbury
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - Alex Guzman
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - Roberto Molina
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - Pilo Calvillo
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA
| | - Caitlin R Gabor
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666USA.,The Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
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Gardner KM, Hunt RL, Mathis A. Response to conspecific alarm cues by larval and juvenile spotted salamanders ( Ambystoma maculatum). ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2019.1691058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katlyn M. Gardner
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, 901 S. National, Springfield MO 65897, USA
- Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341, USA
| | - Robert L. Hunt
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1101 Riverside Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65102, USA
| | - Alicia Mathis
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, 901 S. National, Springfield MO 65897, USA
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Fryxell DC, Wood ZT, Robinson R, Kinnison MT, Palkovacs EP. Eco-evolutionary feedbacks link prey adaptation to predator performance. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190626. [PMID: 31744415 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Eco-evolutionary feedbacks may determine the outcome of predator-prey interactions in nature, but little work has been done to quantify the feedback effect of short-term prey adaptation on predator performance. We tested the effects of prey availability and recent (less than 100 years) prey adaptation on the feeding and growth rate of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), foraging on western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). Field surveys showed higher densities and larger average body sizes of mosquitofish in recently introduced populations without bass. Over a six-week mesocosm experiment, bass were presented with either a high or low availability of mosquitofish prey from recently established populations either naive or experienced with bass. Naive mosquitofish were larger, less cryptic and more vulnerable to bass predation compared to their experienced counterparts. Bass consumed more naive prey, grew more quickly with naive prey, and grew more quickly per unit biomass of naive prey consumed. The effect of mosquitofish history with the bass on bass growth was similar in magnitude to the effect of mosquitofish availability. In showing that recently derived predation-related prey phenotypes strongly affect predator performance, this study supports the presence of reciprocal predator-prey trait feedbacks in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Fryxell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.,School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Zachary T Wood
- School of Biology and Ecology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Rebecca Robinson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Michael T Kinnison
- School of Biology and Ecology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Eric P Palkovacs
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
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Levell ST, Travis J. Activity Level and Predation Risk in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa. COPEIA 2018. [DOI: 10.1643/ce-17-703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Blake CA, Gabor CR. Exploratory behaviour and novel predator recognition: behavioural correlations across contexts. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2016; 89:1178-1189. [PMID: 27220896 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
It was hypothesized that the exploratory behaviour of an individual measured in a novel environment could predict its behaviour in response to a novel predator. This study examined novel predator recognition in the western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis, a species with individual differences in risk-taking, activity and exploration in novel environments. Prey responded with characteristic shoaling and avoidance in response to native predators, but did not show characteristic antipredator behaviour towards novel predators. Furthermore, G. affinis exhibited individual-level behavioural correlations across contexts but only when prey were tested with native predators. This could be the result of native predatory selection on behavioural correlations in the prey species.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Blake
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, U.S.A
| | - C R Gabor
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, U.S.A
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Vaughan CM, Breaux JH, East JL, Pease AA. Feeding ecology of nonnative, inlandFundulus grandisin the Lower Pecos River. SOUTHWEST NAT 2016. [DOI: 10.1894/0038-4909-61.1.74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Harris BN, Carr JA. The role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis in mediating predator-avoidance trade-offs. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2016; 230-231:110-42. [PMID: 27080550 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining energy balance and reproducing are important for fitness, yet animals have evolved mechanisms by which the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/HPI) axis can shut these activities off. While HPA/HPI axis inhibition of feeding and reproduction may have evolved as a predator defense, to date there has been no review across taxa of the causal evidence for such a relationship. Here we review the literature on this topic by addressing evidence for three predictions: that exposure to predators decreases reproduction and feeding, that exposure to predators activates the HPA/HPI axis, and that predator-induced activation of the HPA/HPI axis inhibits foraging and reproduction. Weight of evidence indicates that exposure to predator cues inhibits several aspects of foraging and reproduction. While the evidence from fish and mammals supports the hypothesis that predator cues activate the HPA/HPI axis, the existing data in other vertebrate taxa are equivocal. A causal role for the HPA axis in predator-induced suppression of feeding and reproduction has not been demonstrated to date, although many studies report correlative relationships between HPA activity and reproduction and/or feeding. Manipulation of HPA/HPI axis signaling will be required in future studies to demonstrate direct mediation of predator-induced inhibition of feeding and reproduction. Understanding the circuitry linking sensory pathways to their control of the HPA/HPI axis also is needed. Finally, the role that fear and anxiety pathways play in the response of the HPA axis to predator cues is needed to better understand the role that predators have played in shaping anxiety related behaviors in all species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanna N Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States
| | - James A Carr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States.
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