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The signal detection problem of aposematic prey revisited: integrating prior social and personal experience
<p>Data collected during three separate experiments using the "novel world" (Alatalo & Mappes, Nature 1996) approach to test how social information changes predator discrimination of novel aposematic prey from a cryptic palatable alternative. Experiments were conducted with great tits (<em>Parus major</em>), captured from the wild and released afterwards, at the University of Jyväskylä Research Station, Konnevesi, Finland (62.6° N, 26.3° E) during three winters (2013-2014, 2016-2017, 2017-2018). Social information was provided by video playback of a demonstrator (adult male) showing an aversive behavioural response to a novel prey signal before observers (juveniles, adults, males, females) searched for prey signals against a background in either an aviary or in a "miniature novel world" in an experimental holding box.</p>
The contribution of semi-natural habitats to biological control is dependent on sentinel prey type
<ol> <li>It is widely recognized that landscape factors affect the biological control of weed seeds and insect pests in arable crops, but landscape effects have been found to be inconsistent between studies.</li> <li>Here, we compare six different types of sentinels (s<span>urrogate prey that was either live insects or seeds) to measure the effects of semi-natural habitats at field to landscape scales on levels of biological control in winter wheat in the UK. Sentinels were located in fields adjacent to three boundary types: grassy margin, hedgerows or woodland to study local scale effects and in landscapes of varying heterogeneity in study areas of 1 km radius. </span> </li> <li> <span>Overall mean levels of predation were higher for most insect prey (60.8%) located on the ground compared to the crop (12.2%) and was lower for seeds (5.8%). Predation of sentinels on the ground was attributed to generalist predators. <a name="_Hlk24705886">Semi-natural habitats had both positive and negative effects at field and landscape scales, but the response varied with the sentinel type.</a><a name="_Hlk12869057"> Herbaceous linear semi-natural habitats had positive effects at local scales for <i>Calliphora vomitoria </i>and <i>Sitobion avenae </i>sentinels and provides </a></span><span>evidence that farmers can introduce linear herbaceous features to benefit biological control. In contrast o</span><span>ur distance weighted kernel models identified a positive relationship between woody habitats and the predation of <i>Caliphora vomitoria </i>and<i> Chenopodium album</i>. Natural aphid infestations were lower in landscapes with more semi-natural habitat. </span> </li> <li> <i><span>Synthesis and applications. </span></i><span>Sentinels may be sensitive enough to detect variation in levels of biological control influenced by semi-natural habitats, but this study confirms that landscape effects differ for different types of sentinel prey. This implies that it may not be possible to categorize landscapes as pest suppressive using a single sentinel type. Future studies should therefore consider </span>using multiple sentinels to give a better perspective on predation intensity. The resulting recommendations for farm management include <span>planting woodland adjacent wheat fields infested with seed predators and positioning herbaceous linear habitats adjacent wheat fields infested with <i>Sitobion Avenae</i>, particularly if fields are bordered by woody liner habitats due to their association with decreased <i>Sitobion Avenae </i>predation.</span> </li> </ol>
Data from: Bats perceptually weight prey cues across sensory systems when hunting in noise
Anthropogenic noise can interfere with environmental information processing and thereby reduce survival and reproduction. Receivers of signals and cues in particular depend on perceptual strategies to adjust to noisy conditions. We found that predators that hunt using prey sounds can reduce the negative impact of noise by making use of prey cues conveyed through additional sensory systems. In the presence of masking noise, but not in its absence, frog-eating bats preferred and were faster in attacking a robotic frog emitting multiple sensory cues. The behavioral changes induced by masking noise were accompanied by an increase in active localization through echolocation. Our findings help to reveal how animals can adapt to anthropogenic noise and have implications for the role of sensory ecology in driving species interactions.
Figure 3 in Behavior notes and prey spectrum of three species of the bee-hunting wasp Trachypus Klug (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)
Figure 3. Trachypus taschenbergi biology. (A) female carrying a prey (Paratrigona subnuda drone) near the nest entrance. (B) female exiting the nest; (C-E) a female trying to enter an occupied nest and being expelled by a female that was inside the nest.
Figure 1 in Behavior notes and prey spectrum of three species of the bee-hunting wasp Trachypus Klug (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)
Figure 1. Study site. (A) Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, (B) land cover (modified from Pereira et al., 2020), (C) original sampling sites (modified from Michener et al., 1958).
Figure 2 in Behavior notes and prey spectrum of three species of the bee-hunting wasp Trachypus Klug (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)
Figure 2. Rose diagrams for seasonal activities of (A) Trachypus elongatus and (B) Trachypus taschenbergi, considering the number of female observations per day of fieldwork. Months are treated as sectors of 30 degrees each, with January corresponding to 0 and December to 330.
Habitat complexity dampens selection on prey activity level
<p>Conspecific prey individuals often exhibit persistent differences in behavior (i.e., animal personality) and consequently vary in their susceptibility to predation. How this form of selection varies across environmental contexts is essential to predicting ecological and evolutionary dynamics, yet remains currently unresolved. Here, we use three separate predator–prey systems (sea star–snail, wolf spider–cricket, and jumping spider–cricket) to independently examine how habitat structural complexity influences the selection that predators impose on prey behavioral types. Prior to conducting staged predator–prey interaction encounters, we ran prey individuals through multiple behavioral assays to determine their average activity level. We then allowed individual predators to interact with groups of prey in either open or structurally complex habitats and recorded the number and individual identity of prey that were eaten. Habitat complexity had no effect on overall predation rates in any of the three predator–prey systems. Despite this, we detected a pervasive interaction between habitat structure and individual prey activity level in determining individual prey survival. In open habitats, all predators imposed strong selection on prey behavioral types: sea stars preferentially consumed sedentary snails, while spiders preferentially consumed active crickets. Habitat complexity dampened selection within all three systems, equalizing the predation risk that active and sedentary prey faced. These findings suggest a general effect of habitat complexity that reduces the importance of prey activity level in determining individual predation risk. We reason this occurs because activity level (i.e., movement) is paramount in determining risk within open environments, whereas in complex habitats, other behavioral traits (e.g., escape ability to a refuge) may take precedence.</p>
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey
Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in free-living systems which often include dangerous prey species that resist predation. We used long-term (1995–2015) data from a large mammal system in northern Yellowstone National Park, USA, to understand how prey preference of a wild, generalist predator (Canis lupus) responds to a shift in prey species evenness involving rising numbers of dangerous prey (Bison bison) and dropping numbers of relatively safer prey (Cervus elaphus). Contrary to the prey switching hypothesis, wolves attacked and killed disproportionately more of the rarer, but safer, species. Wolves maintained a strong preference against bison even when this species was more than twice as abundant as elk. There was also evidence that wolves were increasingly averse to hunting bison as relative bison abundance increased. Wolves seldom hunted bison because capture success was limited to a narrow set of conditions: larger packs (>11 wolves) chasing smaller herds (10–20 bison) with calves. Wolves scavenged bison carrion instead and did so more frequently as bison abundance increased. Our study demonstrates the overarching importance of prey vulnerability to understanding the prey preferences of generalist predators in ecological communities with dangerous prey. The formidable defences of such prey diminish the potential for switching and its stabilizing influence on population dynamics. In these communities, shifts from hunting to scavenging are perhaps more likely than shifts in prey preference. The assumption of switching may therefore overestimate the stability of multi-prey systems that include dangerous prey species.
Data from: Diversity in thermal affinity among key piscivores buffers impacts of ocean warming on predator-prey interactions
Asymmetries in responses to climate change have the potential to alter important predator-prey interactions, in part by altering the location and size of spatial refugia for prey. We evaluated the effect of ocean warming on interactions between four important piscivores and four of their prey in the U.S. Northeast Shelf by examining species overlap under historical conditions (1968-2014) and with a doubling in CO2. Because both predator and prey shift their distributions in response to changing ocean conditions, the net impact of warming or cooling on predator-prey interactions was not determined a priori from the range extent of either predator or prey alone. For Atlantic cod, an historically dominant piscivore in the region, we found that both historical and future warming led to a decline in the proportion of prey species' range it occupied and caused a potential reduction in its ability to exert top-down control on these prey. In contrast, the potential for overlap of spiny dogfish with prey species was enhanced by warming, expanding their importance as predators in this system. In sum, the decline in the ecological role for cod that began with overfishing in this ecosystem will likely be exacerbated by warming, but this loss may be counteracted by the rise in dominance of other piscivores with contrasting thermal preferences. Functional diversity in thermal affinity within the piscivore guild may therefore buffer against the impact of warming on marine ecosystems, suggesting a novel mechanism by which diversity confers resilience.
Data from: Thermal sensitivity and the role of behavior in driving an intertidal predator-prey interaction
Environmental stress models (ESM) provide a useful framework to study the direct and indirect ecological drivers of community diversity and resilience. ESMs make predictions about the relative importance of structuring processes (e.g., predation) based on the relative stress suffered by consumers and prey. Their practical application, i.e., determining the conditions under which consumers and prey performance is more negatively affected, has been limited because the roles of behavior and physiology are not usually considered. We examined the role of thermal sensitivity and behavior on the thermal performance of the rocky intertidal predator Pisaster ochraceus and its main prey Mytilus californianus. We propose a novel framework that merges thermal performance curves (TPC) with observations of microhabitat use to provide a realistic perspective of the relative physiological conditions of predator and prey. First, by deriving aquatic and aerial TPCs for both species and from two sites, we found differences in parameter values that in some cases correspond to the individuals' origins. Second, we calculated realized thermal performance in the field by combining TPCs with body temperatures recorded with biomimetic sensors. Notably, thermal performance of Pisaster was higher than that for Mytilus (i.e., prey-stress model), contrary to previous expectations based on caging experiments. Third, these estimates of thermal performance corresponded loosely with a measured indicator of overall physiological condition (body mass index, BMI) and a marker for extreme thermal stress (heat-shock proteins 70 kDa), suggesting that environmental drivers other than temperature, such as food supply, must be considered. We found no evidence that Pisaster movement significantly influences thermal performance under typical conditions, suggesting instead that its preference for sheltered microhabitats provides a mechanism for avoiding exposure to extreme environmental conditions. Through the application of TPCs and ESMs, this study provides a unique perspective on the importance of physiology and behavior in driving the sensitivity of species interactions to environmental change. Crucially, this framework allowed clarifying that this system behaves as a prey- instead of consumer-stress model, which may also apply to many other ectotherm species interactions.
An invasive amphibian drives antipredator responses in two prey at different trophic positions
<p>Generalist invasive predators consume prey at different trophic levels and generate drastic changes in local communities. However, the long-term effects of predation may be reduced by eco-evolutionary responses of native populations. The capacity of prey species distributed across the trophic network to develop antipredator responses may determine the ecosystem potential to buffer against the invader. The African clawed frog is a major invader on several continents. Because of its large size, generalist diet, and aquatic lifestyle, we predicted the development of antipredator responses in prey species at different trophic levels. We tested for behavioral shifts between populations within and outside the invasive range in the herbivorous snail Physella acuta and the predatory heteropteran, the backswimmer Notonecta glauca. We detected antipredator responses in both prey species. In sympatry, P. acuta stayed higher in the water column, while N. glauca spent more time swimming underwater and less time surfacing when the predator cues were present. In allopatry, P. acuta dived deeper and N. glauca spent more time surfacing and stayed longer still underwater. In both species, sympatric populations showed evidence of olfactory recognition of the frog. Our results show that the introduction of a top predator like Xenopus laevis in the pond ecosystem drives behavioral antipredator responses in species across the trophic network. Eco-evolutionary processes may allow some degree of long-term resilience of pond communities to the invasion of X. laevis.</p>
Hunting habits die hard: Conserved prey preferences in neotropical army ants across distant neotropical rainforests
<p><span>Supplemental dataset to article. </span></p> <p><span>A</span><span>rticle abstract: Army ants are widely recognized as keystone species in neotropical rainforests due to their role as important arthropod predators. Their large-scale raids involve countless workers scouring the forest floor in pursuit of prey, primarily capturing other invertebrates. However, our understanding of the precise dietary preferences and the degree of niche differentiation among sympatric species remains limited. In this study, we resolved an Ecuadorian army ant predation network consisting of 244 prey species and 13 army ant species of the genera <em>Cheliomyrmex</em>, <em>Eciton</em>, <em>Labidus</em>, <em>Neivamyrmex</em>, and <em>Nomamyrmex</em>. We collected 2,156 prey items from 180 army ant raids/emigrations, and of these, we identified 1,945 prey items to family level, 1,313 to genus level and 664 to species level based on morphological identifications and DNA barcodes. Prey consisted primarily of other ants (1,843 prey items; 153 ant species), to the largest part ant brood (N = 1,726). Hence, most army ant species chiefly plundered the nests of other ants, while the three swarm-raiding species, i.e. <em>L. praedator, L. spininodes, </em>and<em> E. burchellii</em>, exhibited a relatively high proportion of non-ant invertebrate prey in their diet. The predation network showed a high degree of specialization (</span><span>H<sub>2</sub>ˈ</span><span> = 0.65)</span><span>, characterized by little dietary niche overlap among sympatric species. We compared the Ecuadorian network with one previously studied in Costa Rica and found that, despite the large geographic distance, prey preferences remained remarkably similar. We discovered species-specific preferences for captured ant genera and species, despite some species turnover in both army ants and prey. Additionally, army ants also exhibited consistent spatio-temporal raiding preferences across study sites. In conclusion, predation preferences within army ant communities exhibited consistency in multiple niche dimensions across two distant geographic regions, suggesting a notable level of predictability within army ant predation networks.</span></p>
Data from: Fox control and fire influence the occurrence of invasive predators and threatened native prey
<p>It can be challenging to distinguish management impacts from other population drivers, including 'natural' processes and co-occurring threats. However, disentangling processes is important, particularly when management may have unintended consequences, such as mesopredator release. We explored the effects of long-term, broadscale poison-baiting programs on the distribution of red foxes <em>Vulpes vulpes</em> (targeted invasive predator), feral cats <em>Felis catus</em> (unmanaged invasive competitor) and two of their threatened native prey in two fire-affected regions of south-eastern Australia. We synthesised data from 3,667 camera-trap deployments at 1,232 sites (172,052 trap-nights), combining experimental manipulation of foxes and fire with space-for-time approaches. Fox control effectiveness––in terms of decreased probability of fox occurrence and increased probability of prey occurrence––depended on the duration and intensity of the poison-baiting program. The effects of fox control on prey occurrence also varied between the two native prey species: fox control was strongly beneficial to the long-nosed potoroo <em>Potorous tridactylus</em> but had no measurable effect on southern brown bandicoot <em>Isoodon obesulus</em> occurrence. Feral cat occupancy tended to be higher in landscapes with long-term fox control, although we found no effect of fox-bait density on fine-scale cat occurrence. Time since fire (0–80 years) was associated with the occurrence of each study species, but its association with invasive predators also differed among vegetation types. Invasive predators and altered fire regimes are key, often overlapping, biodiversity threats. Our work highlights the importance of fine-scale monitoring and consideration of multiple drivers in distribution models to develop effective, tailored conservation strategies.</p>
Data from: Conspicuous stripes on prey capture attention and reduce attacks by foraging jumping spiders
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Many animals avoid predation using aposematic displays that pair toxic/dangerous defenses with conspicuous achromatic warning patterns, such as high-contrast stripes. To understand how these prey defenses work, we need to understand the decision-making of visual predators. Here we gave two species of jumping spiders (</span><em>Phidippus regius</em><span><em><span> </span></em>and </span><em>Habronattus trimaculatus</em><span>) choice tests using live termites that had their back patterns manipulated using paper capes (solid white, solid black, striped). For </span><em>P. regius</em><span><em><span>,</span></em> black and striped termites were quicker to capture attention. Yet despite this increased attention, striped termites were attacked at lower rates than either white or black. This suggests that the termite's contrast with the background elicits attention, but the internal striped body patterning reduces attacks. Results from tests with </span><em>H. trimaculatus</em><span> were qualitatively similar but did not meet the threshold for statistical significance. Additional exploratory analyses suggest th</span>at attention to and aversion to stripes is at least partially innate and provide further insight into how decision-making played out during trials. Because of their rich diversity (over 6500 species) that includes variation in natural history, toxin susceptibility, degree of color vision, and dietary specialization, jumping spiders are well-suited to test broad generalizations about how and why aposematic displays work. </p>
Fig. 5 in Comparative Biology Of Cave-Dwelling Spitting Spiders (Araneae: Scytodidae): Parental Care, Cooperative Prey-Capture, Cannibalism, Natal Dispersal And Reproductive Behaviour
Fig. 5. Scytodes fusca female leaving her egg-sac aside to forage on the house fly.
Dynamic energy landscapes of predators and the implications for modifying prey risk
<p>Landscapes of fear describe a spatial representation of an animal's perceived risk of predation and the associated foraging costs, while energy landscapes describe the spatial representation of their energetic cost of moving and foraging. Fear landscapes are often dynamic and change based on predator presence and behavior, and variation in abiotic conditions that modify risk. Energy landscapes are also dynamic and can change across diel, seasonal, and climatic timescales based on variability in temperature, snowfall, wind/current speeds etc.</p> <p>Recently, it was suggested that fear and energy landscapes should be integrated. In this paradigm, the interaction between the landscapes relates to prey being forced into areas of the energy landscape they would avoid if risk were not a factor. However, dynamic energy landscapes experienced by predators must also be considered since they can affect their ability to forage, irrespective of variation in prey behavior. We propose an additional component to the fear and dynamic energy landscape paradigm that integrates landscapes of both prey and predators, where predator foraging behavior is modulated by changes in their energyscape.</p> <p>Specifically, we integrate the predators' energy landscape into foraging theory that predicts prey patch-leaving decisions under the threat of predation. We predict that as a predator's energetic cost of foraging increases in a habitat, then the prey's foraging costs of predation and patch quitting harvest rate will decrease. Prey may also decrease their vigilance in response to increased energetic foraging cost for predators, which will lower prey-giving-up densities.</p> <p>We then provide examples in terrestrial, aerial and marine ecosystems where we might expect to see these effects. These include birds, sharks which use updrafts that vary based on wind and current speeds, tidal state, or temperature and terrestrial predators (e.g. wolves) whose landscapes vary seasonally with snow depth or ice cover which may influence their foraging success and even diet selection.</p> <p>A predator perspective is critical to considering the combination of these landscapes and their ecological consequences. Dynamic predator energy landscapes could add a spatiotemporal component to risk effects which may cascade through food webs.</p>
Proximity-sensors on GPS collars reveal fine-scale predator-prey behavior during a predation event: A case study from Scandinavia
<p>Although the advent of high-resolution GPS tracking technology has helped increase our understanding of individual and multi-species behavior in wildlife systems, detecting and recording direct interactions between free-ranging animals remains difficult. In 2023, we deployed GPS collars equipped with proximity sensors (GPS proximity collars) on brown bears (<em>Ursus</em> <em>arctos</em>) and moose (<em>Alces</em> <em>alces</em>) as part of a multi-species interaction study in central Sweden. On 6 June, 2023, a collar on an adult female moose and a collar on an adult male bear triggered on each other's UHF signal and started collecting fine-scale GPS positioning data. The moose collar collected positions every 2 minutes for 89 minutes and the bear collar collected positions every 1 minute for 41 minutes. On 8 June, field personnel visited the site and found a female neonate moose carcass with clear indications of bear bite marks on the head and neck. During the predation event, the bear remained at the carcass while the moose moved back and forth, moving towards the carcass site about 5 times. The moose was observed via drone with 2 calves on 24 May and with only one remaining calf on 9 June. This case study describes, to the best of our knowledge, the first instance of a predation event between two free-ranging, wild species recorded by GPS proximity collars. Both collars successfully triggered and switched to finer-scaled GPS fix rates when the individuals were in close proximity producing detailed movement data for both predator and prey during and after a predation event. We suggest that, combined with standard field methodology, GPS proximity collars placed on free-ranging animals offer the ability for researchers to observe direct interactions between multiple individuals and species in the wild without the need for direct visual observation.</p>
Using UV stimuli to evoke prey capture strikes in head-fixed zebrafish larvae
<p>Hunting in larval zebrafish begins with eye convergence and orienting turns, proceeds to approach swims, and ends with the strike, where larvae consume the prey. Here, we describe a protocol to present UV stimuli to zebrafish, which greatly increases the occurrence of hunting initiation and strikes. We also describe how we record and analyze strike behavior in head-fixed larvae. Our goals are to increase the robustness of prey capture, and to allow other labs to implement strike behavioural essay</p>
Killer prey: Temperature reverses future bacterial predation
<p>Script and datasets for the paper "Killer prey: Temperature reverses future bacterial predation"</p> <p>Prey killer.zip contains the files and code necessary to reproduce the analysis and the figures in the manuscript.<br> • All datasets, as csv files, are in the Data folder together with the README file.<br> • The Figures and Tables folders contain all figures and tables from the manuscript and SI.<br> • prey_killing_predator_script.Rmd is the script used to perform the statistical analyses and create the figures and tables.</p>
Data from: Prey responses to foxes are not determined by nativeness
<p>Introduced predators are thought to be responsible for the decline and extinction of their native prey. The prey naivety hypothesis provides a mechanism for these declines, suggesting that native prey are vulnerable to introduced predators as their coevolutionary history is insufficiently long for antipredator behaviours to fully develop. The prey naivety hypothesis thus predicts that prey will be less responsive to introduced predators than to native predators. Australia's endemic small mammals are thought to be vulnerable to predation by red foxes because they are less responsive to – or naive to – a predator with whom they have only co-occurred since the 19th century. To test whether nativeness determines antipredator behaviours we compared small mammal behavioural responses to fox scent outside (Australia) and inside the foxes' native range (North America and Israel). We conducted giving-up density experiments in the deserts of these three regions and evaluated small mammal anti-predator responses to fox scent. To place these results in a broader context, we then integrated our results into a meta-analysis of studies assessing prey responsiveness to fox scent. All small mammals similarly increased their vigilance in response to fox scent, regardless of their coevolutionary history with foxes. Australian small mammals responded with greater wariness to fox scent, by decreasing time at food patches in response to fox scent more than Israeli and American small mammals did. However, we found no evidence that this behaviour influenced foraging as nut consumption was unaffected. Our meta-analysis revealed that globally, small mammals respond with similar wariness to fox scent regardless of whether foxes are their native predator. We found no evidence that Australian small mammals respond in a maladaptive manner, compared to the foxes' native prey. Our results suggest that animals can develop antipredator behaviours to introduced predators to the same magnitude as native prey.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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