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79 results for “Anti-predator”

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dryad32/100

Data from: Experimentally induced anti-predator responses are mediated by social and environmental factors

Nest predation is a common cause of reproductive failure for many bird species, and various anti-predator defense behaviors have evolved to reduce the risk of nest predation. However, trade-offs between current reproductive duties and future reproduction often limit the parent's ability to respond to nest predation risk. Individual responses to experimentally increased nest predation risk can give insights into these trade-offs. Here, we investigate whether social and ecological factors affect individual responses to predation risk by experimentally manipulating the risk of nest predation using taxidermic mounts in the cooperative breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). Our results show that dominant females, but not males, alarm called more often when they confront a nest predator model alone than when they do so with a partner, and that individuals that confront a predator together attacked more than those that did so alone. Dominant males increased their anti-predator defense by spending more time nest guarding after a presentation with a nest predator, compared to a non-predator control, but no such effect was found for females, who did not increase the time spent incubating. In contrast to incubation by females, nest guarding responses by dominant males depended on the presence of other group members and food availability. These results suggest that while female investment in incubation is always high and not dependent on social and ecological conditions, males have a lower initial investment, which allows them to respond to sudden changes in nest predation risk.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

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Data from: Predator exposure improves anti-predator responses in a threatened mammal

Incorporating an understanding of animal behaviour into conservation programmes can influence conservation outcomes. Exotic predators can have devastating impacts on native prey species and thwart reintroduction efforts, in part due to prey naïveté caused by an absence of co-evolution between predators and prey. Attempts have been made to improve the anti-predator behaviours of reintroduced native prey by conducting laboratory-based predator recognition training but results have been varied and have rarely led to improved survival in reintroduction programmes. We investigated whether in situ predator exposure could improve anti-predator responses of a predator-naïve mammal by exposing prey populations to low densities of introduced predators under controlled conditions. We reintroduced 352 burrowing bettongs to a 26-km2 fenced exclosure at the Arid Recovery Reserve in South Australia and exposed them to feral cats (density 0.03–0.15 cats/km2) over an 18-month period. At the same time, we translocated a different group of bettongs into an exclosure free of introduced predators, as a control. We compared three behaviours (flight initiation distances, trap docility and behaviour at feeding trays) of cat-exposed and control bettongs before the translocations, then at 6, 12 and 18 months post-translocation. Cat-exposed bettongs displayed changes in behaviour that suggested increased wariness, relative to control bettongs. At 18 months post-reintroduction, cat-exposed bettongs had greater flight initiation distances and approached feed trays more slowly than control bettongs. Cat-exposed bettongs also increased their trap docility over time. Synthesis and applications. Translocation is recommended as a conservation tool for many threatened species yet success rates are generally low. We demonstrate that controlled levels of in situ predator exposure can increase wariness in the behaviour of naïve prey. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that in situ predator exposure could be used as a method to improve the anti-predator responses of predator-naïve threatened species populations.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

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Data from: Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction

Exotic predators have been the driving force behind the extinction of many island endemic species. We examined impacts of feral cats (Felis catus) on the abundance and anti-predator behaviors of Aegean wall lizards (Podarcis erhardii) in the Cyclades (Greece), where cats were introduced thousands of years ago. We compared populations with high and low cat density on Naxos and populations on surrounding islets with no cats. Results show that cats have strong negative effects on wall lizard populations, and lizards cope with current threat from cats using plastic defenses that likely existed before the ancient introduction. Lizards facing greater risk from cats stayed closer to refugia, and were more likely to shed their tails in a standardized assay. Flight initiation distance from a surveyor or a mounted cat decoy in the lab correlated closely with risk from cats. All populations showed phenotypic plasticity in flight initiation distance suggesting that this plasticity is ancient and could have helped wall lizards survive the initial introduction of cats to the region. Lizards from islets sought shelter less often and often initially approached the cat decoy. These differences reflect a change since the introduction and could render islet lizards strongly susceptible to cat predation.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

dryad32/100

Social learning of acoustic anti-predator cues occurs between wild bird species

In many species, individuals gather information about their environment both through direct experience and through information obtained from others. Social learning, or the acquisition of information from others, can occur both within and between species and may facilitate the rapid spread of antipredator behaviour. Within birds, acoustic signals are frequently used to alert others to the presence of predators, and individuals can quickly learn to associate novel acoustic cues with predation risk. However, few studies have addressed whether such learning occurs only though direct experience or whether it has a social component, nor whether such learning can occur between species. We investigate these questions in two sympatric species of Parids: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major). Using playbacks of unfamiliar bird vocalisations paired with a predator model in a controlled aviary setting, we find that blue tits can learn to associate a novel sound with predation risk via direct experience, and that antipredator response to the sound can be socially transmitted to heterospecific observers, despite lack of first-hand experience. Our results suggest that social learning of acoustic cues can occur between species. Such interspecific social information transmission may help to mediate the formation of mixed-species aggregations.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

dryad32/100

The anti-predation benefit of flash displays is related to the distance at which the prey initiates its escape

Flash behaviour is widespread in the animal kingdom and describes the exposure of a hidden conspicuous signal by an otherwise cryptic individual as it is fleeing from predators. Recent studies have demonstrated that the signal can enhance survivorship by leading pursuing predators into believing the flasher will also be conspicuous at rest. Naturally, this illusion will work best if potential predators are ignorant of the flasher's resting appearance. One way in which this could be achieved is by the prey fleeing when the predator is far away. To test this hypothesis, we compared the survival of flashing and non-flashing computer-generated prey with different flight initiation distances (FIDs) using humans as model predators. This experiment found that flash displays confer a significant survivorship advantage only to those prey with a sufficiently long FID that the predator has little opportunity to view them at rest. A complementary phylogenetic analysis of Australian bird species supports these results: after controlling for body size, species with putative flashing signals had longer FIDs than those without. Species with putative flashing signals also tended to be larger, as demonstrated in other taxa. The anti-predation benefit of flash displays is therefore related to the nature of escape behaviour.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

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Data for: Anti-predator phenotype in crucian carp altered by a psychoactive drug

Predator-inducible defences constitute a widespread form of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, and such defences have recently been suggested linked with the neuroendocrine system. The neuroendocrine system is a target of endocrine disruptors, such as psychoactive pharmaceuticals, which are common aquatic contaminants. We hypothesized that exposure to an antidepressant pollutant, fluoxetine, influences the physiological stress response in our model species, crucian carp, affecting its behavioural and morphological responses to predation threat. We examined short- and long-term effects of fluoxetine and predator exposure on behaviour and morphology in crucian carp. 17 days of exposure to a high dose of fluoxetine (100 µg L-1), resulted in a shyer phenotype, regardless of the presence/absence of a pike predator, but this effect disappeared after long-term exposure. Fluoxetine effects on morphological plasticity was context dependent as a low dose (1 µg L-1) only influenced crucian carp body shape in pike presence. A high dose of fluoxetine strongly influenced body shape regardless of predator treatment. Our results highlight that environmental pollution by pharmaceuticals could disrupt physiological regulation of ecologically important inducible defences.

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

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Data from: Captive birds exhibit greater foraging efficiency and vigilance after anti-predator training

Rearing animals in captivity for conservation translocation is a complex undertaking that demands interdisciplinary management tactics. The maladapted behaviors that captive animals can develop create unique problems for wildlife managers seeking to release these animals into the wild. Often, released captive animals show decreased survival due to predation and their inability to display appropriate anti-predator, vigilance, and risk-analysis behaviors. Additionally, released animals may have poor foraging skills, further increasing their vulnerability to predation. Often conservation translocation programs use anti-predator training to ameliorate these maladapted behaviors before release but find mixed results in behavioral responses. The behavioral scope of analyzing the effect of anti-predator trainings is frequently narrow; the effect of this training on an animal's risk-analysis competency, or ability to assess the predation risk of a foraging patch and subsequently adjust its behavior, remains unstudied. Using a captive reared passerine species, the American robin (Turdus migratorius) (46 individuals), we applied an experimental giving up density test (GUD) to analyze the effect of anti-predator training on the robins' vigilance/risk-analysis behaviors, patch choice, and the GUD of food left behind after one foraging session. Robins moved and foraged freely between three foraging patches of differing predation risk before and after a hawk silhouette was presented for one minute. Results indicate that after anti-predator training, robins displayed increased vigilance across most foraging patches and better foraging efficiency (higher vigilance and latency to forage with simultaneous lower GUD) in the safest patch. These results can have positive survival implications post-release, however, more research on this training is needed because anti-predator training has the potential to elicit indiscriminate increased vigilance to the detriment of foraging gains. Further research is required to standardize GUD's application in translocation programs with multigenerational captive-bred animals to fully comprehend its effectiveness in identifying and correcting maladaptive behaviors. GUD tests combined with behavioral analysis should be used by conservation translocation managers to examine the need for anti-predator and foraging trainings, the effects of trainings, and a group's suitability for release.

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

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FIG. 1 in Do Bufonids Employ Different Anti-Predator Behaviors Than Ranids? Comparison among Three European Anurans

FIG. 1. Percentages of observed behavioral responses of (A) the Common Toad (sample size, the total number of recorded reactions, nH ¼ 423 with hedgehogs and nR ¼ 99 with rabbit), (B) the Common Frog (nH ¼ 185 and nR ¼ 98), and (C) the Edible Frog (nH ¼ 244, nR ¼ 90) in experiments with hedgehog and in control tests with rabbit.

opennotspecifiedFeb 2018View details →

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FIG. 2 in Do Bufonids Employ Different Anti-Predator Behaviors Than Ranids? Comparison among Three European Anurans

FIG. 2. Head hitting displayed by the Common Toad against the predator, a hedgehog: (A) an immobile toad; (B) the immobile toad sniffed by a hedgehog; (C) and (D) the toad hitting the hedgehog with its head (arrows indicate the attack direction); (E) after retreat, the toad is employing crouching down coupled with filling the lungs with air and gentle tilting the dorsum towards the hedgehog; (F) the toad remaining in this position after the attack cessation by hedgehog.

opennotspecifiedFeb 2018View details →

dryad32/100

Innate anti-predator behavior can promote infection in fish even in the absence of predators

Natural enemies - predators and parasites - largely shape the dynamics of ecosystems. It is known that anti-predator and anti-parasite defense can be mutually conflicting, however consequences of this trade-off for the regulation of infection burden in animals are still poorly understood. We hypothesize that even in the absence of cues from predators, innate anti-predator behavior ("ghost of predation past") interferes with defense against parasites and can enhance the infection risk. As a case study, we explore interactions between a commercial species, the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, and its parasite, the trematode eye-fluke Diplostomum pseudospathaceum. Fish-parasite interactions were tested in compartmentalized tanks where shelters and parasites were presented in different combinations providing various conditions for microhabitat choice and territorial behavior. Shelters were attractive and contestable despite the absence of predators and presence of parasites. The individuals fighting for shelters acquired more than twice the number of cercariae as compared to those in infected shelter-free compartments. Most infected were subordinate fish with a higher ventilation rate. Fish possessing shelters were less vulnerable to parasites than fighting fish. Grouping reduced the infection load, although less efficiently than sheltering. Our data demonstrate that the innate anti-predator behavior can undermine anti-parasite tactics of the fish and result in higher infection rates. Using our empirical results, we construct a mathematical model which predicts that enriching the environment in fish farming will be beneficial only when a large number of shelters is provided. Using insufficient number of shelters will increase the parasite burden in the fish.

opencc-zeroOct 2019View details →

dryad32/100

Data and code from: Light might suppress both types of sound-evoked anti-predator flight in moths

Urbanization exposes wild animals to increased levels of light, affecting particularly nocturnal animals. Artificial light at night might shift the balance of predator-prey interactions, for example of nocturnal echolocating bats and eared moths. Moths exposed to light show less last-ditch manoeuvres in response to attacking close-by bats. In contrast, the extent to which negative phonotaxis, moths' first line of defence against distant bats, is affected by light is unclear. Here, we aimed to quantify the overall effect of light on both types of sound-evoked anti-predator flight, last-ditch manoeuvres and negative phonotaxis. We caught moths at two light traps, which were alternately equipped with loudspeakers that presented ultrasonic playbacks to simulate hunting bats. The light field was omnidirectional to attract moths equally from all directions. In contrast, the sound field was directional and thus, depending on the moth's approach direction, elicited either only negative phonotaxis, or negative phonotaxis and last-ditch manoeuvres. We did not observe an effect of sound playback on the number of caught moths, suggesting that light might suppress both types of anti-predator flight, as either type would have caused a decline in the number of caught moths. As control, we confirmed that our playback was able to elicit evasive flight in moths in a dark flight room. Showing no effect of a treatment, however, is difficult. We discuss potential alternative explanations for our results, and call for further studies to investigate how light interferes with animal behaviour.

opencc-zeroSep 2021View details →

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Data for: Landscape of fear or landscape of food? Moose hunting triggers an anti-predator response in brown bears

Hunters can affect the behavior of wildlife by inducing a landscape of fear, selecting individuals with specific traits, or by altering resource availability across the landscape. Most research investigating the influence of hunting on wildlife resource selection has focused on target species and less attention has been devoted to non-target species, such as scavengers that can be both attracted or repelled by hunting activities. We used resource selection functions to identify areas where hunters were most likely to kill moose (Alces alces) in south-central Sweden during the fall. Then, we used step-selection functions to determine whether female brown bears (Ursus arctos) selected or avoided these areas and specific resources during the moose hunting season. We found that, during both day and nighttime, female brown bears avoided areas where hunters were more likely to kill moose. We found evidence that resource selection by brown bears varied substantially during the fall and that some behavioral changes were consistent with disturbance associated with moose hunters. Brown bears were more likely to select concealed locations in young (i.e., regenerating) and coniferous forests and areas further away from roads during the moose hunting season. Our results suggest that brown bears react to both spatial and temporal variations in apparent risk during the fall: moose hunters create a landscape of fear and trigger an anti-predator response in a large carnivore even if bears are not specifically targeted during the moose hunting season. Such anti-predator responses might lead to indirect habitat loss and lower foraging efficiency and the resulting consequences should be considered when planning hunting seasons.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

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